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Half-hours with
the saints and
servants of
God [extr. from
their ...
1
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by Google
HALF-HOURS
WITH THE
SAINTS AND SERVANTS OF GOD.
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byGOQgl
HALF-HOURS
WITH THE
SAINTS AND SERVANTS
OF GOD.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES AND MANY TRANSLATIONS
By CHARLES KENNY.
UDUtb a preface be tbe
VERY REVEREND W. T. GORDON,
PROVOST OF THE ORATORY, LONDON.
" It is very useful for those who minister the Word of God, or give themselves
up to prayer, to read the works of authors whose nam— begin^with S., such as
Saint Augustine, Saint Bernard," &c. ^ S^S^h
LONDON:
. oUN !FR2 -:
BURNS AND OATES.
1882.
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•Google
THIS VOLUME
IS DEDICATED TO
XTbe JBrotbers of tbe Xfttle ©rators,
IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF MANY A PLEASANT
EVENING SPENT IN ST. WILFRID'S HALL,
BY
ONE WHO WAS THE SECRETARY
OF THE
FIRST ELECTED* FATHER PREFECT OF THE
LONDON LITTLE ORATORY.
* Rev. Father Dalgairns, R.I. P.
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A FEW NOTES
BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION.
"Half-Hours with the. Best Authors," edited by
that indefatigable author and publisher, Charles Knight,
suggested the title of this volume.
The perusal of "La Biblioth^que des Predicateurs,"
par le R. P. Vincent Houdry, SJ., 18 vols, demy 8vo,
suggested the contents; from this storehouse of learning,
and from this monument of persevering industry, very
many extracts have been translated and rendered into
English.
In the " Biblioth&que " the subject matter of each half-
hour is in alphabetical order, but my idea was, that if
the contents were arranged and classified, the work
would not only be more interesting, but better adapted
for spiritual reading.
Care has been taken to select those authors who have
made frequent allusions to the Saints, and greater care
has been bestowed on the translations of passages which
breathe a spirit of devotion and piety, so that the volume
may be in accordance with the recommendatory maxim
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viii
INTRODUCTION.
of my very dear Father and Patron Saint, St. Philip
Neri.
The compiler and translator will be grateful for any
suggested improvements, and any notification of errors,
&c, &c, so that if a second edition should be called
for, additions and alterations can be made.
26 Howard Road,
Dorking, Surrey,
Feast of SS. Phiiip and fames,
Ap. 1882.
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PREFACE.
SPIRITUAL reading is now so recognised a practice for all
who wish to lead a devout life, that it is hardly necessary
here to insist on its importance. It is, however, well to *
remind persons living in these times, that the present mul-
tiplication of periodical literature of every kind, is an addi-
tional reason for being faithful to the exercise of daily
spiritual reading. The variety of subjects brought before
the reader, the absence of deep thought or real principles,
concealed by an attractive and brilliant style of writing,
dissipate the mind, and gradually destroy, not only the
habit, but even the power of serious reflection. We, there-
fore, who live in times of much reading and little thinking,
have the greater need to spend some portion of our day,
in reversing this process, in company with some book,
which we read slowly, but from which, we can gain matter
for much after-meditation.
The demand for spiritual reading for persons varying
much in their capacity, tastes, and the amount of leisure
at their disposal, justifies the multiplication of such books.
And it is thought that the one now offered to the public
has special advantages, which will make it prove a boon to
many.
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X
PREFACE.
In spite of their goodwill, there are persons whose lives
are so occupied, that they can give but little time to serious
reading, and even those few moments, have to be snatched
at uncertain times. For such as these, it is important to
have a book which can bear to be so read. The editor of
" Half-Hours with the Saints and Servants of God/' has
effected this, by arranging in short sections, extracts from
various writers, all bearing on some one great truth or
mystery of our holy religion. It would be well, indeed, to
spend a half-hour in such good company, but the sections
are so short, that one who has only ten minutes at his
disposal would be able to read slowly and " pausingly? as
S. Philip tells us such books should be read, words that
would go far to sanctify the day.
The extracts are made from writers of every age, from
St. Augustine, down to our own Father Faber, and many of
the quotations, are from books, quite out of the reach of
ordinary readers. Moreover, the editor has wisely added
a short account of the life of the Saint, or servant of God,
whose work he quotes, and this not only adds much to the
interest of the work, but may lead those who have time
at their disposal, to cultivate a taste for solid reading.
They will learn the beautiful thoughts of men whom they
have hitherto known only by name, and they will become
anxious to know more of the history of their times, and
of the circumstances in which they wrote. Thus, ecclesi-
astical history and the biographies of the great Christian
writers, will acquire a new interest in their minds, and who
can say, how great a blessing a taste for such reading may
prove ? Many, whose lives are now full of activity, may
have before them, through ill health or old age, long years
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PREFACE.
xi
of enforced inactivity; and a taste for reading will save
them from many temptations, and make these years, a time,
not only of tranquil enjoyment, but of much profit to their
souls. Those who have been faithful in the practice of
daily spiritual reading, know from experience how great
is the fruit derived from it Thoughts are suggested, which
prove a safeguard against some sudden temptation which
comes to them during the day, or they gain a light
which enables them to answer some specious but shallow
blasphemy uttered in their presence, or some cross which
would otherwise have betrayed them into impatience, is
welcomed as a gift from God.
These " Half-hours with the Saints and Servants of
God," will thus enable many to profit by the few minutes
they can give to spiritual reading, while they will suggest
to others, who have more time at their disposal, in what
books they may seek for treatises suited to their spiritual
needs.
The long experience of Mr. Charles Kenny is a guarantee
for the literary excellence of the book, — of the spiritual
merit of which I have alone been speaking.
WILLIAM T. GORDON.
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LIST OF CONTENTS
CLASSIFIED AND DIVIDED INTO EIGHT PARTS.
$art tf>e JRrst
ON GOD, HIS ATTRIBUTES, GIFTS, GRACES, &C.
PAGE
1. On the Love of God, i
St Francis of Sales and Father Segneri.
2. On the Holy Fear of God, 5
Pere Bretteville, Fathers Faber, Nouet, and St. Gregory.
3. On the Holy Will of God, 9
Pere Nepveu, Massillon, and St Augustine.
4. On the Word of God, 12
Pere de la Porte, Massillon, and SS. Francis and Cyprian,
5. On the Law of God, 16
SS. Augustine, Chrysostom, Jerome, and Cyprian.
6. On the Presence of God, 21
Pere Nepveu and Father Faber.
7. On the Providence of God, 24
St Chrysostom, Pere Croiset, and St Augustine.
8. On the Service of God, 27
Archdeacon Boudon and Father Faber.
9. On the want of Fervour in God's Service, . 31
Bourdaloue, Pere Croiset, and St Augustine.
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xiv CONTENTS.
PAGE
10. On the Mercy of God, 35
Pere de la Colombiere and Father Faber.
11. On God's Mercy in our Illnesses, . . . 38
Father Spinola, S.M. Pere Nouet, and St. Ambrose.
12. On God's Mercy in Afflictions, etc., ... 42
St Chrysostom and Flechier.
13. On the Actual Grace of God, .... 45
St. iElred, Massillon, and Bourdaloue.
14. On the Sanctifying Grace of God, ... 49
Cardinal Bellarmin, Pere Duneau, and St Leo.
15. On Confidence in God, 53
Peres Houdry and De la Colombiere. •
16. On Zeal for God, . . . . . -56
Fathers Lambert Croiset, and Nouet
$art tfje Second
ON GOD THE SON AND GOD THE HOLY GHOST.
17. On the Incarnation, 60
SS. Bernard, Athanasius, Jerome, and Pere Grenada.
18. On the Divinity of our Saviour, . . .64
Cardinal BeYulle and Pere Dozennes.
19. On Belief in Christ our Lord, .... 69
Massillon, Fromentiere, and St. Jerome.
20. On the Love of Jesus for Men, . . . -72
Pere Eusebe Nieremberg.
21. On the Nativity of our Lord, 75
Pere du J any and St. Augustine.
22. On the Circumcision, 79
Bourdaloue, Father Faber, and St Bernard.
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CONTENTS. xv
PAGE
23. On the Holy Name of Jesus, ..... 83
Pere Nouet, S.J.
24. On the Epiphany, 86
SS. Augustine, Chrysostora, and Pere Montmorel.
25. On the Infancy and Hidden Life of Jesus, . . 89
Peres Croiset and Nouet, S.J.
26. On the Transfiguration, 92
Father du Pont, S.J.
27. On the Washing of the Feet, .... 95
Rev. Pere Houdry, S.J., and St. Leo.
28. On the Passion of our Lord, 98
Peres de la Colombiere and Nouet.
29. On Jesus Risen, . 102
Bourdaloue.
30. On the Sacred Heart and Wounds, . . .105
Cardinal Peter Damien, Pere Biroat, and St. Bernard.
31. On the Mystery of the Cross, .... 109
SS. Chrysostom and Augustine.
32. On the Ascension, 112
Peres de la Colombiere, Le Valois, and St. Bernard.
33. On the Descent of the Holy Ghost, . .116
St. Chrysostom and Flechier.
34. On the most Holy Trinity, . . .119
Peres Houdry and De la Colombiere.
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ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AND OF OUR
LADY'S FEASTS.
35. On Devotion to the Mother of God, . . . 1 23
Henri-Marie Boudon, Archdeacon, and St. Bernard.
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xvi CONTENTS.
PAGE
36. On the Immaculate Conception, . . . .127
Peres Houdry, De la Colombiere, and St. Bernard.
37. On the Nativity of Mary, 131
Pere Verjus.
38. On the Holy Name of Mary, 134
Pere D'Argentan.
39. On the Presentation of Mary, . . . 137
Pere Houdry, SJ.
40. On the Annunciation, .140
Bourdaloue and St. Gregory.
41. On the Visitation, 144
Peres du J any and D'Argentan.
42. On the Purification, 147
Bourdaloue and Father Faber.
43. On the Seven Dolours, 151
From " Essias de Sermons " and Father Fabfcr.
44. On the Assumption, 155
Pere Nouet
45. On the Holy Rosary, 158
Father Faber and Pere Nicolas de Dijon.
46. On our Lady of Mount Carmel, . . . .162
Pere de la Colombiere.
$art tfje JFourtfj*
ON OUR HOLY MOTHER THE CHURCH, AND OF THE
SACRAMENTS ADMINISTERED IN THE CHURCH.
47. On the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. . 165
Pere Texier and Flechier.
48. On the Treasures of the Church, . . .168
Pere Texier.
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CONTENTS.
49. On the Ministry of God's Church,
Flechier and St Jerome.
50. On Material Churches,
Flechier and St Chrysostom.
51. On Sundays and Holidays, .
Pere Montmorel and Discours Chrgtiennes.
52. On Fastings and Abstinence,
Pere de la Colombiere.
53. On the Sacrament of Baptism,
St Chrysostom, Pere Nepvue, and St Lea
54. On the Sacrament of Penance, .
Bourdaloue and Pere Masson.
55. On Holy Communion, ....
Peres Castillo, Vaubert, and St Cyprian.
56. On the Holy Eucharist as a Sacrifice,
Flechier.
57. On the Holy Eucharist as a Sacrament,
Father Faber, Pere Gamier, and St Cyprian.
58. On the Sacrament of Matrimony,
Pere Cordier.
59. On the World and its Dangers, .
St. Augustine, Flechier, and Pere Croiset
60. On the World and its Maxims, .
St Ambrose, Massillon, and St Augustine.
6x. On the World and its Duties,
St Chrysostom and Pere Texier.
ON THE WORLD AND SIN.
xviii
CONTENTS.
PAGK
62. On the World and its Honours and Dignities, . 215
Pere De la Colombiere and St Gregory.
63. On Mortal Sin, . 218
Peres Tearier, Berthier, and St. Cyprian.
64. On Venial Sin, 222
Peres De la Colombiere and Segneri. •
63. On Habitual Sin, 225
St Augustine, Pere Biroat, and St Bernard.
66. On Occasions of Sin, 228
Massillon and Bossuet.
67. On Frequent Relapses into Sin, . . .231
Bourdaloue.
68. On Final Impenitence, 234
Massillon, De la Colombiere, and St Chrysostom.
$art tfje Sixty*
ON THE VICES WE SHOULD FLEE FROM.
69. On Ambition, 238
Peres Houdry and Croiset, S.J.
7a On Anger, 240
SS. Basil, Chrysostom, and Ambrose.
71. On Avarice, 243
St Chrysostom and Massillon.
72. On Atheism and Infidelity, .... 246
SS. Augustine and Cyprian.
73. On Blasphemy, 250
La Morale Chr&ienne and St Chrysostom.
74. On Calumny and Slander, 253
Bourdaloue and SS. Chrysostom and Bernard.
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CONTENTS. xix
/ PAGE
75. On Discord, Law-Suits, &c, 256
Pere Lejeune, Homilies Morales, and St. Ambrose.
76. On Effeminacy and Sensuality, .... 260
Le Pere Haineuve.
77. On Envy and Jealousy, 263
SS. Cyprian, Chrysostom, and BasiL
78. On Flattery, 267
" Guerre aux vices," and SS. Basil and Jerome.
79* On Gambling, ....... . . .271
Peres Giroust and Bourdaloue.
80. On Hardness of Heart, 274
Bishop Mascaron, and Peres Nouet and Nepvue.
81. On Hypocrisy, 277
Bourdaloue and Dictionnaire Morale.
82. On Idleness and Sloth, 280
Bourdaloue.
83. On Ignorance, 283
Pere La Font
84. On Immodest Attire, Fashion, &c, ». . . 286
SS. Chrysostom and Cyprian.
85. On Impurity, 289
St. Basil, Peres Houdry and De la Rue.
86. On Ingratitude, 292
SS. Chrysostom and Ambrose, and Bourdaloue.
87. On Intemperance, 295
Peres De la Colombiere, Houdry, S.J., and St. Ambrose.
88. On Lying and Trickery, 299
Peres Houdry, Heliodore, and St. Augustine.
89. On Prosperity of the Wicked, . . . . 302
St Augustine and Massillon.
90. On Rash Judgments, . . . . 3°5
SS. Francis de Sales, John of God, Augustine, and L'Abbe* de la
Trappe.
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xx CONTENTS.
PAGE
91. On Scandal, 309
Bourdaloue, St. Cyprian, and Pere Houdry.
92. On Self-Love, 312
P&res Louis de Grenada, Camaret, and St. Augustine.
93. On Theatres, Balls, &c., ..... 315
Fenelon, St Francis de Sales, and Lanctantius.
94. On Theft and Larceny, 319
Pere Lejeune.
95. On Vain Glory, 322
SS. Chrysostom, Ambrose, and Rodriguez.
96. On all our bad Passions, . . . . 326
Peres A. Rodriguez, Nepvue, and St Philip Neri
$art tfje Se&entfr*
ON THE VIRTUES WE SHOULD PUT INTO
PRACTICE.
97. On Alms-Deeds, 330
St Chrysostom and Peres Houdry and Faber.
98. On Keeping the Commandments, .... 333
Pere Lambert
99. On Conscience, 335
Bourdaloue.
100. On the C«nversion of Sinners, .... 338
Bourdaloue and Pere Houdry.
1 01. On the Employment of Time, .... 341
Peres Segneri and Croiset
102. On Faith, 345
Flechier and Pere J a Font
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CONTENTS. xxi
FACE
103. On Friendship, 34**
SS. Francis of Sales, Chrysottom, and Jerome.
104. On Good Example, 35 1
Pere Texier.
105. On Good Works, 354
St Chrysostom and Pere Segneri.
1 06. On Holiness and Perfection, . . . .357
St Ambrose and Pere D'Argentan.
107. On Human Respect, $60
Massillon and St. Gregory.
108. On Humility, 363
St Francis de Sales and Father Faber.
109. On Love of our Neighbour, 366
SS. Bernardine of Sienna, &c, &c.
no. On Love of our Enemies, 369
Carranza, Le Pere Joly, and St. Gregory Naz.
in. On Meditation and Mental Prayer, . • .372
St Francis of Sales, Massillon, and Rodriguez.
112. On Meekness, 375
SS. Ambrose and Augustine.
113. On Modesty, 37**
St Ambrose and Pere A. Rodriguez.
114. On Mortification, . . • . . . 3**2
Peres Segneri, Croiset, and St. Bernard.
115. On Obedience, 386
SS. Francis of Sales, Gregory, and Pere Lambert.
116. On Order and Regularity, 390
Le Pere Haineuve and St Augustine.
117. On Penance as a Virtue, 393
Bourdaloue.
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xxii CONTENTS.
PAGE
ii 8. On Perseverance, . 396
Peres Antoine de la Porte Croiset and St. Philip Neri.
119. On Piety and Devotion,: 400
St Bernard and Pere Croiset
120. On Poverty, Voluntary, &a, . 403
Fathers Sarrazin, Faber, and St Bernard.
121. On Prayer, 406
SS. Francis, Augustine, Philip Neri, and Fenelon.
122. On Predestination, 410
Peres Houdry and Croiset.
123. On Prudence, 413
St. Basil and Pere Giroust
124. On Purity and Chastity, 416
SS. Astere and Ambrose.
125. On Religion, 419
Bourdaloue, De la Colombiere, and St Bernard.
126. On Retreats, 423
SS. Ephrem, Gregory, and Pere le Valois.
127. On Riches — Use and Abuse, . . . .427
SS. Chrysostom, Basil, and Massillon.
128. On the Excellence of the Soul, . . . 430
Peres Houdry, Nepvue, Bretteville, and St Chrysostom.
129. On the Peace of the Soul, 433
Father Segneri, SS. Edmond of Canterbury and Augustine.
130. On Salvation, 437
SS. Ephrem, Chrysostom, and Pere Nepvue.
131. On Temptations, 440
SS. Chrysostom, Francis, Augustine, and Rodriguez.
132. On Vocation to a State of Life, .... 444
Pere Nepvue, Massillon, and St Philip Neri.
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CONTENTS. xxiii
$art tfje
ON THE LAST FOUR THINGS.
PAGE
133. On Death — In General, 447
Fathers Segneri and Faber.
134. On Death — A Good and Bad one, . . 450
SS. Bernard, Philip Neri, and Peres Giroust and Houdry.
135. On the Particular Judgment, .... 454
Peres Du Pont and Croiset.
136. On the Last Judgment, 457
Bourdaloue and Pere Segneri.
137. On Purgatory, 460
On what the Saints have written on this subject.
138. On Hell, 463
Fathers Biroat and Faber.
139. On Heaven, 466
St. Chrysostom and Peres Croiset and Nepvue.
For Alphabetical Indicts, see end of Volume.
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HALF-HOURS
WITH THE
SAINTS AND SERVANTS OF GOD.
1.— Dn tfie JLot)e of (ftoli.
St. Francis de Sales and Father Segneri.
" This only take care of with all diligence, that you love the Lord your God."
[St. Francis de Sales was bom at the Castle of Sales, in the dio-
cese of Geneva, August 21, 1567.
Leigh Hunt, the most charming of our modern essayists, has left us
an interesting article in his "London Journal " (February 4, 1835) on
this grand saint and doctor. He says that, " like Fe'ne'lon, he was a
sort of angel of a gentleman ; a species of phcenix which, we really
must say, the French Church seems to have produced beyond any
other."
After the death of Bishop Granier, Francis was appointed Bishop of
Geneva. This was on the 8th of December 1602.
He continued to discharge all the duties of a saintly prelate till the
year 1622, when he died of an apoplexy, at Lyons, December 28, aged
fifty-six, leaving several religious works, collected in two volumes
folio. He was canonised in 1665.
For his Life, &c, see Marsollier, Moreri, Disct. Hist., Butler,
&c. &c]
Love is strong as death {Cant viii. 6) : since both equally
separate the soul from the body and all terrestrial things,
the only difference is, that the separation is real and effec-
tual when caused by death, whereas that occasioned by
love is usually confined to the heart.
— JosuExxiii. 1.
A
2
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
I say usually, because divine love is sometimes so
violent that it actually separates the soul from the body,
and, by causing the death of those who love, it renders
them infinitely happier than if it bestowed on them a
thousand lives.
As the lot of the reprobate is to die in sin, that of the
elect is to expire in the love and grace of God, which is
effected in several ways.
Many of the Saints died, not only in the state of charity,
but in the actual exercise of divine love. St Augustine
expired in making an act of contrition, which cannot exist
without love ; St. Jerome, in exhorting his disciples to
charity and the practice of all virtues ; St. Ambrose, in
conversing sweetly with his Saviour, whom he had received
in the Holy Eucharist ; St. Antony of Padua also expired
in the act of discoursing with our Divine Lord, after having
recited a hymn in honour of the ever-glorious Virgin ;
St. Thomas of Aquinas, with his hands clasped, his
eyes raised to heaven, and pronouncing these words of
the Canticles, which were the last he had expounded:
" Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field 99 {Cant
vii. n).
All the apostles, and the greater number of the martyrs,
died in prayer. Venerable Bede, having learned the hour
of his death by revelation, went to the choir at the usual
hour to sing the evening office, it being the feast of the
Ascension, and at the very moment he had finished sing-
ing vespers, he expired, following his Guide and Master
into heaven, to celebrate His praises in that abode of rest
and happiness, round which the shades of night can never
gather, because it is illumined by the brightness of the
eternal day, which neither dawns nor ends.
John Gerson, Chancellor of the University of Paris,
remarkable for his learning and virtue — of whom Sixtus
of Sienna said, "that it is difficult to decide whether the
Digitized by
THE LOVE OF GOD.
3
vein of piety, which runs through his works surpasses his
science, or whether his learning exceeds his piety" — after
having explained the fifty properties of divine love men-
tioned in the Canticles, expired at the close of three days,
smiling, and pronouncing these words of the same sacred
text: "Thy love, O God, is strong as death" {Cant.
viii. 6).
The fervour and ardour of St. Martin at the hour of his
death are remarkable. St. Louis, who has proved himself
as great a monarch among the Saints as an eminent saint
among kings, being attacked by the plague, ceased not to
pray, and after receiving the viaticum, he extended his
arms in the form of a cross, fixed his eyes on heaven,
and, animated with love and confidence, expired in saying
with the Psalmist: "I will come into Thy house, O Lord;
I will worship towards Thy holy temple, in Thy fear"
(Ps.v. 8).
St. Peter Celestine, after having endured the most
cruel and incredible afflictions, seeing the end of his days
approach, began to sing like the swan, and terminated his
song with his life, by these words of the last Psalm: "Let
every spirit praise the Lord" (Ps. cl. 5).
St. Eusebi&, surnamed the Stranger, died kneeling in
fervent prayer. St. Peter the Martyr yielded his last sigh
in writing (with his finger, which he had dipped in his
blood) the articles of the faith for which he sacrificed his
life, and in saying: "Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend
my spirit " (Ps. xxx. 6).
The great apostle of the Indies and Japan, St. Francis
Xavier, expired holding a crucifix, which he tenderly
embraced, and incessantly repeated in transports of love :
"O Jesus! the God of my heart!"
St. Francis de Sales.
From his Treatise on " The Love of God. "
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HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
[Paul Segneri, S.J., was born in the year 1624, at Nantes. From
an early age he showed a predilection for the religious state. He
united the functions of missionary with that of preacher during the
space of twenty-seven years, with a zeal truly apostolic. This inde-
fatigable religious and saintly director, worn out with hard work and
austerities, yielded up his soul to God in the year 1694, aged seventy.]
The saintly Father Segneri tells ,us that the sure way of
gaining heaven, without much cost, is by making frequent
acts of the love of God, and by accustoming ourselves to
do everything with the intention of pleasing Him.
We shall no longer be tempted to complain that we
cannot undertake such great things as we so much admire
in others.
God is content if we do all we can to love Him in our
sphere of life, and He asks for nothing more. You some-
times regret that you cannot practise great austerities,
which no doubt are due to Him for our past sins.
Supply for these in another way, replace those fastings
and watchings by fervent acts of love ; He requires nothing
more.
You are engaged here below in temporal affairs; domestic
cares, perchance, occupy your time. Well, do all these
with the intention of pleasing Him, and God will be as
content as if you had undertaken the worthy functions
of an apostolate.
By what way, do you think, did the Saints attain to
the perfection of holiness? It was less by their heroic
actions than by the great love they showed in performing
their lesser duties. Our Saviour does not praise Mary
Magdalen for having done much, but for having loved
much. Magdalen had not then practised austerities, but
the love of Jesus had filled her heart with torrents of
tears.
P. Segneri.
Meditations,
THE FEAR OF GOD.
5
2.— Dn tfie 5>oi2 jTear of (Sou*
Fathers Bretteville, Faber, Nouet, and
St. Gregory.
" With him that feareth the Lord, it shall go well in the latter end, and in the
day of his death he shall be blessed."— Ecclks. i. 13.
[L'Abb£ de Bretteville, born in the year 1630 at Bretteville,
near Caen in Normandy. In the year 1667 he entered the Society of
Jesus, which order he, however, abandoned in 1678. He died in 1688.]
The fear of the terrible judgment of God is necessary to
lead a sinner back to repentance, but love must be added
to fear to make this repentance perfect.
It seems to me that there is implanted in the heart of
man two natures ; both combined will contribute to his
conversion, and make it perfect and secure. In toto corde
vestro.
There is in the heart an inferior nature, which is more
worldly, and which can only be moved by sensible things ;
fear is for this portion of the heart ; for it is by the con-
templation of hell and the fearful consequences of vice
that seizes the heart of man and turns it away from sin.
But there is in this same heart a superior celestial nature,
which is only susceptible of the dawn of grace. This is
love ; this is that divine charity which moves that portion
of the heart, and which makes it seek God for God's sake
alone.
The conversion of the heart begins with fear and finishes
with love.
To return to God simply through fear is, so to say, only^
6
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half the battle. In order that we may be all for God, we
must combine love with fear.
Is not the love of God sufficient, says the great St.
Augustine, to make us avoid sin ? Was it needful to
employ fear and terrible threats ? Timor in adjutoriutn
amoris excitandus fuit
At least — if fear did what love should do, we should
have less to complain of — what is so shocking is, that nowa-
days we have reached that pitch of indifference which is
neither moved by fear nor by love, and that the most fright-
ful things do not make any impression on our hearts.
[Father Faber. — This celebrated and justly appreciated Orato-
rian Father died on September 26, 1863. The reader is referred to
Father John Bowden's interesting Life of this zealous servant of God.
Suffice it to say, that his hymns are sung throughout the length and
breadth of the land, that his works have been translated in many an
European language, and that his preaching entitled him to the name
of the modern Chrysostom ; for truly, like to that great saint and
doctor, he was " honey-mouthed."]
The loss of holy fear is the mischief of all mischiefs.
For this fear is a special gift of the Holy Ghost, to be
sought for by prayer and penance, by tears and cries, by
patience and impatience, and by the very yearnings of an
earnest and familiar love. It has always seemed to me
very and unexpectedly beautiful when in the special office
of St. Philip Neri, knowing what manner of man he was,
and what peculiar spirit he was of, it says in the antiphon
of the Magnificat, " Come, my children, and I will teach
you the fear of the Lord;" for how else shall the saint
teach us divinest love ?
Bretteville.
Essays.
THE FEAR OF GOD.
7
Let us pass in review before ourselves the ancient patri-
archs and their deep awe of God ; how they trembled with
holy fear when God was nigh, and looked upon all things
as unspeakably hallowed over which He had so much as
cast His shadow.
Jacob, who was so familiar with Him that he wrestled
with Him, and would not let Him go till He had blessed
him, stands eminent among the Saints of God for the gift
and grace of fear. The very ritual of the old synagogue
was steeped in fear and reverence. David, the man after
God's own heart, was ever praying for an increase of holy
fear. Our Blessed Lord himself, says the Apostle, in the
days of His flesh was heard because He feared. Mary and
the Apostles were filled, as none others ever were, with the
beauty, the tenderness, and the excess of this heavenly
fear.
Hundreds of dying Saints, around whose flesh and souls
still clung the fair white robe of their unforfeited baptismal
whiteness,- trembled in every limb as they pondered the
possible judgments of Infinite Purity, beneath whose judi-
cial eye they were about to stand.
If they needed this degree of fear, what degree need we?
Why do frustrate vocations so abound ? Whence come
the multitude of unfinished saints, that lie all around us
like the broken models of a sculptor's studio ?
Whence so little perseverance in the devout life, and
such wearying and untying even of the vows and promises
whereby men have bound themselves to God ?
Whence but from the lack of fear !
Father Faber (Orat.)
On the Blessed Sacrament.
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[PfeRE Nouet was born at Mans in 1605. He entered the Society
of Jesus at the early age of twenty. He is chiefly known for his ascetic
works, which are still read and studied with great profit His beauti-
ful meditations have been translated into the English language.
He died in Paris in the year 1680, aged seventy-five.]
There is nothing so bold, nothing more secure, than the
fear of God.
He who fears God, fears naught else ; and he who has a
dread of displeasing Him, or a fear of forfeiting His love,
does not shrink from suffering — cares not if he lose all,
provided he be in a state of grace.
It is said that love banishes fear; but it is the baneful
fear of man, or that servile and imperfect fear which dreads
the shame of sin more than the sin that brings the shame.
I say more than this. There are times when it is neces-
sary to fortify the fear of sin by the fear of hell, in order
to strengthen us in the love of God ; as when we are as-
sailed by some violent temptation, which is not so easy to
overcome if we are not well grounded in the fear of God.
Let us, then, henceforth combine fear with love. These
are the two supports of the soul which attach us to God,
like unto His mercy and justice which go hand in hand
together. Do not let us sever the one from the other, if
we wish to walk on the road to heaven without swerving
from the paths of perfection.
Let us often say with humility that prayer of the Church :
" Make us, O Lord, keep always before our eyes the love
and fear of Your holy Name."
Pere Nouet, S.J.
Meditations, vol. vii.
• ••••••
If a depraved mind be not shaken and humbled by the
fear of God, it will never amend its habitual sins.
St. Gregory.
Horn. iv. on the Gospels.
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THE WILL OF GOD.
a— c&e mm of (fco&.
PfeRE Nepveu, Massillon, and
St. Augustine,
•• Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
—Matthew vi. io.
[Father F. Nepveu, born at St. Malo in the year 1639, embraced
the Society of the Jesuits in 1654. He was at the head of the College
at Rennes, where he died in the year 1708. All the works of this
learned Jesuit are replete with earnest piety.
A list of his numerous works may be found in MorerTs Dictionary.]
Is there any evil in the city, says the prophet, that God
has not made ?
Sin, the only evil that God does not will, He simply
permits, but the consequences of sin He wills. He con-
demns the envy of Joseph's brethren, but He wills the
effect, which was the slavery of Joseph. He had a horror
of the rage of the Jews, but He willed and ordained the
death of our Lord, which was the consequence." He will
punish the injury which is done to you, but He wills the
loss or affliction it causes you.
Why not complain of these evils when looked at in
themselves ? but wherefore murmur when we look upon
them as the will of God ? God wills it ! Ah, that has a
great weight with a man who has faith, who knows and
loves God. A good Christian, would he dare to say, God
wills it, but I wish it not ?
Our perfection consists in doing the will of God, and it
is for us to submit. The will of God is infinitely holy. If
this be the rule of all sanctity, we are then holy in pro-
portion to our conformity to His will.
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Jesus Christ is our model, and we are saintly when we
are like unto Him; and we are so much the more like
Him in proportion to our conformity to the will of God.
Thus does He not say that He is not come to do His will,
but that of His Father?
In fine, our perfection and holiness consists in charity.
Charity is the fulfilment of the law, says St. Paul. Perfect
charity consists in doing the will of God in the highest
sense it can be placed. "He who keeps my command-
ments and does my will," says Jesus Christ himself, " is he
who loves me " {John xiv.)
You are sometimes in anxiety ; if you love God, that is
a just subject of uneasiness. If you are always ready to
do His will and to submit to it, then be sure that you love
Him.
Conformity to the will of God also makes a man happy
as God, who is happiness itself.
What is it that makes God infinitely happy ? It is that
He does all that He wills ; it is that He wills all that is
good ; it is that He finds in Himself all the good that He
wills.
Thus a man perfectly conformed to the will of God
possesses all these blessings.
He does what he wills because he only wishes for what
God wills; because it fulfils also, in whatever manner it
may be, His fulfilment also.
He also wishes only for that that is good, for he wills
only what God wills.
In conclusion, he finds all things good in themselves ; for
his conformity to the will of God, united as it is to God,
makes him possess God ; and what benefit can fail to occur
to him who possesses God ?
Le Pere Nepveu.
Reflex. CkriHiennes.
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THE WILL OF GOD.
IX
[John Baptist Massillon was the son of a notary residing at
Hyeres in Provence. Born on the 24th of June 1663, he entered the
Congregation of the Oratory in the year 168 1. His fame as a fine
preacher having reached the ears of Louis XIV., he was summoned
to Versailles to preach the Advent. It was, after the course of these
discourses that he received the following encomium from the lips of
the French king : — " My father, I have been well satisfied with many
orators, but as for you, every time that I have heard you I have felt
very discontented and vexed with myself."
In the year 17 17, the Regent nominated him to be the Bishop of
Clermont. He remained in the government of his diocese until the
year 1742, when he died at the age of seventy-nine.]
Joseph, raised to the highest dignity in the court of
Egypt, by his elevation became to be the terror and pro-
tector of his brothers. These (of whom he had so much
reason to complain) did he not consider them as only
executors of the will of God, notwithstanding the outrages
they inflicted on him — that the treason and cruelty
which they employed against him proved, by the decrees
of Divine Providence, to be more beneficial than their
jealousy could have imagined ?
It is true that they had sold him to go into Egypt, but
it was not on account of their perfidy, rather it was by the
will of God that he should be sent to this foreign land.
Non vestro consilio sed Dei voluntate hie missus sum.
Such were the feelings of so many Saints and martyrs
with regard to those by whom they had been persecuted.
They reverenced even the scourges which God had sent
to chasten them. The early Christians blessed the hands
that struck them.
Give us, O Lord, the will to do what Thou commandest,
and to do what Thou wiliest.
Massillon.
St. Augustine.
Confessions.
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4.— Dn tfje (EOorD of <0ok
Pere Antoine de la Porte (Carmelite),
Massillon, St. Francis de Sales and
St. Cyprian.
The seed is the wordtrf God."
— Luke viii. ix.
ACCORDING to St. Augustine, the Divine Word falls on
a weak and sensitive element, and it becomes a sacrament.
This word also falls on impure hearts, and it makes them
chaste ; on the wicked, and makes them saints. It finds
them in sin, and it converts them to God.
As in the most wonderful of our Sacraments, those words,
Hoc est Corpus Meum, are transubstantiations of bread into
the Body and of wine into the Blood of the Son of God,
because they are not the words of the priest, but the words
of Jesus Christ, offered up nevertheless by the priest ; so in
like manner preachers make use of moral but wondrous
transubstantiations, and change old sinners into new ser-
vants of God.
What miraculous wonders has not this Word produced 1
It falls on the heart of an% adulterous David, and it makes
him a royal penitent. It falls on the heart of a Magdalen ;
it finds her a worshipper of sin, and it makes her a model
of penance. It falls on Matthew, and from a public usurer,
it makes him an Evangelist. You see a soul enter the
Church — a soul enamoured of the world and full of vanity —
it enters into the Church ; it pays but little attention to the
Word of God, and immediately a penetrating light pierces
the heart, which shows the bad state in which it is. From
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this knowledge it sees its shame, its baseness ; this shame
produces the grief for having offended God, and this sorrow
brings forth the resolution of a change of life.
What is the reason of this wonder, if it be not the Word
of God ?
The force and energy of the Word of God is such that
one could say that it was all-powerful: Vox Domini in
virtute in magnificentia. It is found in the nothingness of
the ears who have listened to its voice. " It calls those
which are not, as well as those which are."
It has subdued the world, overturned idolatry, converted
whole nations. It has brought kings, wise men, ministers
of state, under the subjection of the Gospel. It has done
more than this : throughout the universe the most bar-
barous and savage of people have been civilised. In short,
we owe to this Divine Word the conversion of the whole
world and the extirpation of idolatry.
Le Pere Antoine de la Porte
(Carmelite).
However enlightened and clever we may be, we must
not, on account of that, neglect the assistance of holy
instructions ; however bright may be our intellect, we can
easily go astray; however learned and scientific, we can
always learn something from hearing the Word of God.
If your understanding learns of nothing new, your heart
will, at least, feel that you know nothing, if you do not
know Jesus and Him crucified. If you are sinners, what
more capable of bringing you to a sense of your own
unworthiness than by listening to the voice of the mis-
sionary sent by God ? If you are good, what sweeter
consolation than hearing truths explained, truths you love
and practise, and which become more beneficial the oftener
you hear them ?
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Our Lord has given to the preacher of His Word, a help
which is not to be found elsewhere. The commonest
truths, in the mouth of the preacher, have a strength and
unction which can alone move and convert the most
hardened heart.
In what disposition do you come to hear the Word of
God ?
Many attend to decide upon the merit or incapacity of
him who announces it; many, to make unjust comparisons
between this and that preacher. Some glory in being very
difficult to please, in order to appear of excellent taste ;
they, inattentively, listen to simple explanations which are
necessary to be touched upon, and all the fruit which they
gather from a Christian discourse consists of disparaging
remarks and pointing out the defects of the preacher.
They come, with an intention of finding fault, and ever
find something to censure and criticise,
Massillon.
Lenten Sermon*
• ••••••
Listen with devotion to the Word of God, whether you
hear it in familiar conversation with your spiritual friends
or at a sermon.
Make all the profit of it you possibly can, and suffer it
not to fall to the ground, but receive it into your heart as
a precious balm, imitating the most holy Virgin, who
preserved carefully in her heart all the words which were
spoken in praise of her Son.
Remember that our Lord gathers up the words we speak
to Him in our prayers, according as we gather up those
He speaketh to us by preaching.
Have always at hand some approved book of devotion,
such as the spiritual works of St. Bonaventure, of Gerson,
of Thomas a Kempis, &c„ &c, and read a little in them
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THE WORD OF GOD.
every day with as much devotion, as if you were reading
a letter from those Saints.
St. Francis de Sales.
Devout Life.
Manna suited everybody's taste; in like manner the
Word of God, which is preached to all throughout the
world, supplies the wants of all kinds of persons, and
according as it is listened to by those of ordinary intelli-
gence it will be found — as did the manna of old — to be
suitable to everybody's taste.
St. Cyprian.
On the Lord's Prayer.
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5.— Dn tfce ILato of dBtob.
Saints Augustine, Chrysostom,
Jerome, and Cyprian.
Do not think that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not
come to destroy, but to fulfil "—Matthew v. 17.
[St. Augustine, the perfect model of penitents, was born, a.d. 354,
at Agaste, a small town of Numidia, in Africa. Patrick, his father,
after having been for many years an idolater, embraced Christianity
and received baptism. As to St. Monica, his mother, every one knows
that she was a model to all Christian mothers. Through the prayers
of his saintly mother, he was converted when he was thirty-two. At
the age of forty-two, he was consecrated Bishop of Hippo.
St Augustine has ever been regarded, and justly, as the most
learned of the bishops of his age, and the doctor of all the churches.
He expired, tranquilly, on the 28th of August 430, aged seventy-six
years, nigh forty of which had been spent in the labours of the
apostolic ministry.]
The difference between the two Testaments may be ex*
plained in two words — love and fear. The one appertains
to the old man, the other to the new.
This is the principal difference. For the new law is
that which God promises to impress upon the mind, to
engrave on the heart, and that which is written on in
giving us the Holy Ghost, which diffuses the requisite
charity to make us love truth and justice.
So that this new law induces us to love all that it
commands, while the laws engraven on a stone, only show
the obligations of creatures, and threats in default of obe-
dience. It is this difference which the Apostle wished to
THE LAW OF GOD.
17
point out in his Epistle to the Romans, where he says,
" We have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear,
but we have received the spirit of adoption of sons of God."
The spirit of bondage is that which creates fear, the spirit
of adoption is that of love; fear makes us slaves, love
makes us as children. The Jews, who acted only through
fear of punishment, were slaves ; the Christians, who love,
are the true children.
The new law, imprinted on the heart by the Holy Spirit,
regulates the interior feelings.; whilst the laws engraven on
stone can only regulate exterior actions.
Fear is not capable of changing the interior feeling ; it
can only act outwardly, and thus forces the will to do what
it would not do, or even what it might do. So that ex-
teriorly it submits to force, interiorly, it resists. If deeds
and words conform to the law, the heart is opposed to it.
If the mouth and hands obey, the will is disobedient.
This is the reproach that God makes to the Jews when
He says through His prophet, "This people honour me
with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."
The two usual methods adopted to govern mankind
are fear and hope. This is why the old law does not
solely make use of threats to ensure obedience, but it adds
to them promises ; but these promises were for temporal
welfare, for sensual and gross men who sought for fleeting
prosperity.
Thus we read in the 23d chapter of Exodus that Moses,
in order to induce them to observe the law he was about
to promulgate, promises them every kind of prosperity —
health, long life, a numerous progeny, abundance of every-
thing necessary, and protection from enemies, so that they
may enjoy in peace and quiet all these blessings.
Now, on the contrary, the Son of God begins by preach-
ing penance, and speaks only of the kingdom of heaven
and to make us understand that His wish was that Chris-
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tians should despise earthly prosperity, not expecting a
reward in this life, He begins His beautiful Sermon on the
Mount by saying, " Blessed are the poor in spirit," " Blessed
are the meek," " Blessed are they that mourn;" and in St.
Luke He says, Woe to you that are rich ! woe to you that
now laugh ! and to all who seek the esteem and approba-
tion of men !
In this life, He leads us to expect sufferings, crosses,
and persecution, and He wills that we should love what is
unseen and supernatural.
St. Augustine.
Extracts from his Book against Adimante.
[St. John Chrysostom.— This renowned saint and doctor of the
Church, was born in Antioch in the year 344, and died A.D. 407, aged
sixty-three.
The name of Chrysostom (which means golden-mouthed) was
assigned to him after his death, to express the eloquence which he
possessed in a much greater degree than the other fathers of the
Church. He never repeats himself, and is always original.]
The apostles announced to mankind, a doctrine raised
above human intellect ; they spoke not of earthly things,
but of heaven ; they preached a kingdom and state which
had never before been understood ; they discovered other
riches, another poverty, another liberty, another bondage,
another life and death — in fact, a change and renewal of
everything.
Their teachings are far beyond that of a Plato who had
traced out an idea of an absurd republic, or that of a
Zenon, or those of other philosophers who had formed
projects of governments and republics, and those who
wished to be lawgivers.
One need but read their books to see that the devil
urged them on and diffused a profound darkness in their
mind, upsetting by that means the order of things, and
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*9
destroying the most inviolate laws of nature. And not-
withstanding that these philosophers were at perfect liberty
to publish their strange maxims, fearless of danger or per-
secution, they deemed it necessary to call to their aid the
most elegant of phrases, the most pleasing eloquence, in
order to impress their own ideas firmly in their minds.
The Gospel which, on the contrary, preached only for
the poor and for all those persecuted sinners throughout
the world who had been treated as slaves, and who were
exposed to all kinds of danger — this Gospel, I say, has all
at once been received with every mark of respect by the
learned as well as by the ignorant, by warriors and princes,
— in a word, by Greeks and Romans, and by every savage
nation.
[St. Jerome, one of the most learned and prolific authors of the
early Latin Church, was born in Dalmatia about the year 331. The
learned epistles which he wrote to St. Marcella and St. Paula are cele-
brated for their learning and rare monastic piety.
St. Paula accompanied him to Palestine in 386, where he founded
a convent at Bethlehem ; near this he remained till his death in 420.
His biblical labours are highly valuable, his Latin version of the
Old Testament from the original language is the foundation of the
Vulgate, and his commentary gave a new impulse to the study of the
Holy Scriptures.]
St. Jerome, in writing to the mother of Paula, says : Begin
with the Psalter, and teach your daughter how to chant
the Psalms. You can read with her the Proverbs, by
which she will know the moral precepts.
This can be followed by Ecclesiasticus, a book so capable
of inspiring her with a contempt of this world.
You can then proceed to the Gospels — these, your
daughter ought ever to have in hand.
St. Chrysostom.
Sermon on St. Matthew.
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She can then read the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles.
These finished, she will gladly learn by heart the Prophets
and Historical books.
Lastly, she can read the Canticle of Canticles, for she
will have been prepared to understand this in a spiritual
sense.
St. Jerome.
The evangelical precepts are no other than divine lessons,
they are the foundation of hope, the strengthening of
faith, the food of charity ; the Gospel is a rudder to steer
our way through life, and helps us to reach the harbour
of salvation.
The law commands but few things, but those few
should be willingly and lovingly performed.
St. Cyprian.
On the Lord's Prayer.
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THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
21
6.— j©n tfie presence of <&oH.
Pere Nepveu and Father Faber.
" The sinner hath provoked the Lord—God is not before his eyes."
— Psalm x.
God sees me. Ah, what a phrase is this for him who
understands it well ! How capable it is to control our
passions, to moderate our desires, to prevent us from sin-
ning, to sustain our courage, to animate our fervour, to
regulate our conduct !
God sees me. He is ever present, always mindful of me,
thinks ever of me; whereas I heed Him not, I am not
attentive to Him, I never think of Him. Oh! shame,
shame !
God sees me. With what respect and modesty ought I
not to behave in His presence ! The seraphim hide their
faces with their wings, and I, a mere worm of the earth, do
not tremble.
God sees me. Shall I dare, in the presence of Thy
glance so infinitely pure, commit deeds which I dare not
even show to man ? Shall I dare to sin in Thy presence,
knowing that sin and the sinner is hated by Thee, and to
condemn the sinner Thou hast no wish ?
God sees me. He penetrates into the innermost recesses
of my heart ; He sees therein every desire, and discerns
every intention. With what purity of intention then ought
I not to perform every action.
God is present not only by the immensity of His being,
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but in a more efficacious manner. He is with me to help
me, to support me, to act with me, to work with me. I
can do nothing without Him, but also I can do everything
with Him. I cannot make the least movement, conceive
the least desire, do the smallest action, unless He lends me
His help and assistance, even when I would wish to offend
Him. What condescension ! Why ought I to abuse it?
But He always accommodates Himself to my inclinations ;
He subjects Himself to my will. Is it not reasonable that
I should subject my will to His ? He concurs always with
me. Is it not right and just that I should act in concert
with Him ?
Not only does God act within me, but He also acts
with every creature for me. It is for me that He gives
light and warmth to the sun, that He refreshes me with
the breeze, that He cheers me with the fire ; should I
not be unjust if I did not make use of these creations for
His glory alone ? Should I not be ungrateful if I basely
converted such blessings into opportunities of sinning
. against Him who created them for me?
Le Pere Nepveu.
Christian Reflections.
• • • • • » •
We do our works in the presence of God, when we prac-
tise the presence of God while we do them. There are six
ways of practising the presence of God which are given in
books, and from which souls should select those which are
most suited to them, but not try to practise more than one.
The first, is to try to realise God as He is in heaven ;
the second, to regard ourselves in Him as in His immen-
sity ; the third, is to look at each creature as if it were
a sacrament having God hidden under it ; the fourth, is
to think of Him, and see Him by pure faith ; the fifth, is
to look at Him as in ourselves rather than outside of us,
though He is both ; and the sixth, is to gravitate towards
Digitized by
THE PRESENCE OF OOD.
Him by an habitual loving-mindfulness of heart, a kind of
instinct which is no uncommon growth of prayer, and
comes sooner than would be expected when men strive to
serve God out of the single motive of holy love.
For the perfection of our ordinary actions, we should do
them in the sight of Jesus, that is, to use the words of the
missal, by Christ, with Christ, and in Christ To do our
actions by Christ, is to do them in dependence upon Him,
as He did everything in dependence on His Father, and
by the movement of His Spirit. To do our actions with
Christ is to practise the same virtues as our Lord, to clothe
ourselves with the same dispositions, and to act from
the same intentions, all according to the measure of the
lowliness of our possibilities. To do our actions in Christ
is to unite ours with His, and to offer them to God along
with His, so that for the sake of His, they may be accepted
on high.
Theological Definition of the Presence of God.
When one speaks of the presence of God, there are two
ways of looking upon it. The first, is that God is present
to us, that is to say, that we think of Him, and that, in the
eyes of faith, we look upon His Divine Being as intimately
present in the place in which we are. The second, is that
we are present to God, that is to say, that He sees us, and
is always looking upon us, so that nothing escapes His
observation — words, deeds, thoughts, desires, and inten-
tions— and that wherever we may be, we may always have
Him for a spectator, witness, and judge of all that we do.
That should we act well or ill, such actions are always in
His presence and before His eyes.
Father Faber.
Growth in Holiness.
24
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
7 — Dn tfje protriDence of (Potu
St. Chrysostom, Pere Croiset, S.J., and
St. Augustine.
" For all Thy ways are prepared, and in Thy Providence Thou hast placed Thy
judgments." — Judith ix. 5.
Let us place our trust in the Providence of God. Let us
cut off all those anxieties which serve only to torture our
minds uselessly, since, whether we make ourselves uneasy
or not, it is God alone who sends us all these things, and
who may increase them until He sees they disturb us less.
Of what use would all our cares, anxieties, and troubles
be to us if they only served to torment us, and made us
suffer the pain of having had them ?
Our cares are only the cares of an individual, those of
God include the whole world. The more we trouble our-
selves with our own interests, the less will God interfere.
He who is invited to a splendid banquet does not trouble
himself about what he shall eat, and he who goes to a
limpid spring does not make himself uneasy, for he knows
he will be able to appease his thirst.
Since, then, we have the Providence of God, which is
richer than the most magnificent feast and more inexhaus-
tible than the purest spring, do not be uneasy — do not
cherish any misgivings.
St. Chrysostom.
Taken from his Homilies on St. Matthew.
THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
25
[LE PfeRE Croiset, S.J., was born at Marseilles, about the middle
of the seventeenth century. His "Exercises of Piety," and his other
religious works, are sufficient to prove that he was one of the great
masters of the spiritual life.]
Why fear ? says St Augustine ; you have a God for a
protector and His Providence for a guide.
What ! says the holy doctor, you fear to perish under
the guidance of God, and under the protection of His
Providence ? Times ergo ne pereas f Is it that you know
not that not a single hair can fall off without His approval ?
Cujus capillus non peribit. Ah ! if He takes so much care
of things that are of little or no consequence, how safe
ought we not to feel when we know with what care He
watches a soul which is so precious to Him ?
I am under the protection of the Lord, says the prophet ;
there is nothing He will not fail to supply me with. It is
true that I am poor and am destitute of everything, but
the Lord takes care of me, and He has undertaken to
provide for my wants; nothing can happen to me — sin
excepted — without His concurrence. What have I to
fear ?
What a host of consoling reflections cannot we not find
in the Divine Providence over His creatures! How sweet
to think with what wisdom our Lord disposes of every-
thing for His glory and our salvation! The cunning and
malice of an enemy, the ill-will of an envious man, a
hundred accidents of this life, all end advantageously to
those who love their God.
It is true that we are but exiles and travellers in this
fleeting world, that we therein journey through difficult
and dangerous paths, but what does God not do — yes, and
daily too — to prevent His servants from straying or from,
perishing ? He not only is their guide and protector, but
He showers down His graces, and even makes use of His
angels to help them. He warns them, by secret inspira-
26 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
tions, what they should do and what they should not do,
so that one would say that God is solely occupied in
caring for His creatures.
The world ignores all these loving contrivances of
Divine Providence. The wordlings judge of the different
accidents which occur to well-to-do people, in the same
way they passed their judgment on the adversities of
Joseph, but they did not see the resources of Divine Pro-
vidence which made everything turn to the advantage of
His elect — according to the words of the Apostle, Dili-
gentibus Deutn, omnia co-operantur in bonum.
Let all the world rise up in arms against the servants of
God, what have they to fear when under the protection of
their Divine Master? The malice of men cannot hurt
them.
Let them employ all possible cunning to disquiet them,
let them use every kind of cruel torture to destroy their
bodies, even let all hell be unloosed against them, what
have they to dread, if God is for them?
LE PfeRE Croiset.
Exercises of Piety.
He who has given us life will give us wherewith to
sustain it. He who feeds the thief, will He not feed the
innocent? And if He takes care of His enemies, what
will He not do for His friends ? You cannot place yourself
into better hands than He who made you what you are.
He who has been so good to you before you were what
you are, can He leave you uncared for, now that you are
what He would wish you to be ?
St. Augustine.
On Psalms vi and xxxviii.
Digitized by
THE SERVICE OF GOD.
27
8.— flDn tfie ©ertnce of (ftofc
Henri Marie Boudon and Father Faber.
My yoke is sweet, and my burden light."
— Matthew xi. 30.
[Henri Marie Boudon, Archdeacon of Evreux, was born in 1624,
and died in the year 1702. This holy servant of God was the author
of many pious works. The seventh volume of the Library of Religious
Biography, edited by Edward Healy Thompson, contains an excellent
biography of this distinguished ecclesiastic]
WHAT an honour, and how glorious it is to be in the ser-
vice of so great, so good a Master !
The condition of the least of His servants is incomparably
greater than that of the kings of the earth ; for their great-
ness and prosperity finish with their lives, but the servants
of God finish with their lives the pains and trials they have
had to suffer in His service, and after that they find an eternal
happiness and immortal crowns awaiting them.
It is then reasonable what the royal prophet assures us,
that one day spent in His house and in His service, is
better than a thousand days spent elsewhere.
It is true that all men esteem and love to be great, but
they do not think wherein true greatness is. They deem
it to be a great honour to be in the service of royalty ;
they pay heavy sums to be deemed the head of a firm ; but
they take but little pains to be a servant of God, and, what
is more grievous, they often blush at the idea of fulfilling
the duties of His service.
The great Apostle was elated at a time when the Chris-
28 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
tians were looked upon as scavengers of the world, Tan-
quant purgamenta hujus mundi; and we often are confused
when called upon to practise the duties of His service,
and this, too, at the time when the Christian religion is
dominant, and when many powerful monarchs have will-
ingly professed it.
Happy are the Christians who feel the honour and
acknowledge the grace which God has bestowed upon
them when He has received them as His servants ! Oh !
what a good Master we have ! how magnificent are His
promises ! how faithful He is to carry them out ! how
liberal are His rewards !
How happy is he who serves Him ! and thrice happy is
the choice he has made ! Oh ! if all men knew what it was
to be a servant of God, they would have no more ardent
wish or aspire to a higher honour than to be reckoned
among the number of His faithful servants.
O my Lord and my God ! my heart is rilled with bitter
grief when I call to mind the years of my past life. Alas !
far from having employed them in Thy service, I am one
of those unfaithful servants who have had my own self-
interest in view.
However, as You are my Lord and King, I this day
take an oath of allegiance, and from henceforth, swear that
my wish is to live and die in Thy service.
Boudon.
Le ChrUien Inconnu.
The service of God is not only our most important, but
our sole work. This is so obvious that it requires only
to be stated. Time and words would alike be wasted in
the attempt to prove it. Yet, alas ! even spiritual persons
need to be reminded of this elementary truth. Let us
subject ourselves to a brief examination upon it. Are we
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THE SERVICE OF GOD.
*9
thoroughly convinced it is true ? Has our past life shown
proof of it ? Is our present life modelled upon it ? Are
we taking pains that our future life shall be so ?
What is the result when we compare our worldly promp-
titude and industry with our preference of the service of
God over all other things? Are we in any way on the
look out for His greater glory, or our own greater union
with Him ? Is it plain at first sight that we have no
object or pursuit so engrossing and so decidedly para-
mount as the service of God ?
The spirit in which we serve Him should be entirely
without reserve. Need I prove this? What is to be
reserved ? Can there be reserves with God ? Can His
sovereignty be limited, or our love of Him ever reach the
measure of enough ? But have no reserve with Him now ?
Is there really no corner of our heart over which He is not
absolute Lord ? Does He ask of us freely what He wills,
and do we do our best to give Him all He asks? Have
we no implicit condition with Him that He is only so far
with us and no further? Is our outward life utterly and
unconditionally dependent on Him ? And if it is, is the
kingdom of our inward intentions reposing peaceably
beneath His unquestioned sceptre?
It is of importance not to allow ourselves to rest in any
pursuit except the service of God. By resting I mean
feeling at home, reposing on what we do, forgetting it is a
mere means even when we do not err so far as to mistake
it for an end, being contented with what we are, not push-
ing on, nor being conscious that we are fighting a battle
and climbing a hill. Nothing can excuse the neglect
of the duties of the position in life which God has con-
ferred upon us. All is delusive where these are not attended
to and made much of. They are as it were private sacra-
ments to each one of us. They are our chief, often our
sole, way of becoming saints.
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HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
But while we perform them with all the peaceful dili-
gence which the presence of God inspires, we must jealously
realise that they are means, not ends, subordinate and sub-
servient to the great work of our souls. No amount of
external work, not the unsleeping universal heroism of a
St. Vincent de Paul, can make up for the want of attention
to our own souls, such as resting in our external work
would imply.
Hence we should be jealous of any great pleasure in our
pursuits, even when they are works of Christian mercy
and love. It is always a pleasure to do good, yet it must
be watched, moderated, and kept in check, or it will do us
a mischief before we are aware. The thought of eternity
is a good help to this. It brings down the pride of external
work, and takes the brightness and colour out of our suc-
cesses ; and this is well, for such brightness and colour are
nothing more than the reflection of ourselves and our own
activity.
Father Faber.
Growth in Holinesu
THE WANT OF FERVOUR IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. 31
9.— Dn tfie toant of fcrbour in tfce ©ertrice
of (Eton.
" Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee
out of my mouth."— Apocalypse iii. x&
[BOURDALOUE, Louis. — Louis Bourdaloue was born at Bourges in
1682, and died on the 13th of May 1704.
During the reign of Louis XIV. of France many celebrated eccle-
siastics attained celebrity and even an European reputation, but
Bourdaloue equalled, if not excelled, all those who have succeeded him.
He was styled as " The King of Preachers and the Preacher of Kings.*
His sermons and different works were collected and published in
17 vols. 8vo in the year 1826. In his magnificent discourses no one
displayed a deeper insight into the divine mysteries. Addressing
himself less to worldlings than to Christians, he united the charity of
St. Paul to the unction and learning of St. Augustine, and the use he
makes of passages from Holy Scripture and the quotations from the
writings of the holy fathers render the reading of his sermons profit-
able, and at the same time interesting.
The eulogy of Bourdaloue from Cardinal Maury's Essai sur l'Elo-
quence is always quoted in all French elegant extracts.]
We begin at once to go back in the spiritual life when
we become lukewarm or lax in the service of God. It is
the first step that leads to sin and death. To languish,
says St. Bernard — not that languor of love like unto that
of the Spouse of the Canticle, not that languor of dryness
which David felt when God withdrew His consolations
and seemed to leave him to himself, and which made him
say, Languerunt oculi mei prce inopid ; but that lukewarm-
Bourdaloue, Father Croiset, and
St. Augustine.
32
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
ness which is criminal and voluntary, that languor which
is our own doing, and, through cowardice, makes us throw
off the yoke of Christian regularity — induces us to neglect
the ordinary exercises of piety and prayer, causes us to
feel a distaste for penance, so much so that we withdraw
from the Sacraments, cease from performing good works
— in short, makes us feel that religion is so wearisome that
we can no longer serve the Lord our God in spirit and
truth.
This is what St. Bernard means when he depicts spiritual
tepidity ; and God wills that we should reflect on our past
tepidity and attend to what His saints teach us.
The state of lukewarmness is hurtful to every one, inas-
much as it is one of those maladies of the soul to cure
which the strongest remedies are often found to be in-
effectual.
Such a state is also in direct opposition to the grace of
penance, because, in lieu of that holy fear which it ought
to excite within us, it substitutes fruitless fears which
result in nothing.
We must try to check the growth of tepidity by thinking
of the holiest Christian duties, and fortify our will by
prayer and watchfulness.
In lesser attacks of lukewarmness which are not actually
criminal, far from lessening our devotions, we should, on
the contrary, try to be more fervent, more regular in our
exercises of piety.
To succeed in this it is preferable to practise solid
devotion, to encourage the most generous piety, because
it often happens that he who serves God with less sensible
devotion serves Him with more merit and perfection.
This lukewarmness does not come upon us suddenly.
Like unto the foolish virgins mentioned in the Gospel, it
changes from a drowsiness to a deep slumber. Dormita-
verunt omnes et dormierunt.
THE WANT OF FERVOUR IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. 33
An indifference about our salvation, a contempt for
little duties, a falling off from all that is good and hopeful,
a complacency in all that is bad — all these stupify the soul,
and reduce it to that state of Jonas, who slept soundly
during the violent storm, when all those who were in the
ship were sore afraid, and yet he remained, as it were, in
a lethargic sleep.
It is in vain for a confessor to advise, vain for the
preacher to exhort. If lukewarmness be accompanied
with culpable negligence, the sinner will rarely, if ever, be
awakened to a sense of his or her danger.
This is a true picture of very many who add to their
indifference, the torpidity of an obstinate negligence ; those
who do not wish to fall into open sin, but take no trouble
to advance in virtue; who, although absolved from past
sins, still remain in a guilty negligence of their everyday
duties ; who do not deny the truths of our holy faith, but,
in listening to exhortations, pay no attention or heed them
not ; who, under the pretence that they are not so bad as
many others, never wish or try to imitate those who are
fervent.
In conclusion, it is to such as these, that the Holy Spirit
alludes when He pronounces the curse on those who do
the work of the Lord negligently. Maledictus qui facit
opus Dei negligenter.
BOURDALOUE.
Passion.
The earnestness, the zeal, the love of Mary Magdalen,
compelled our Saviour to console her. She knew Him by
His voice. Oh, my God ! What were at that moment, the
transports of love, the tender gratitude of that holy soul !
Those who are lukewarm in the service of God cannot
realise this, because they love so little, and consequently
c
Digitized by
34 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
cannot know how much she loved Him. Such as these
would wish to be all for Jesus, but they wish it if God will
be satisfied with a divided love — if God would accept of a
service of their own, and not the one He desires.
They would like to be perfect, but only in their own
imperfect way ; they wish to rely on human prudence, and
if anything overtax their strength, they lose courage and
are frightened at the least difficulty.
Vain are the desires, frivolous are the pretexts, of a heart
steeped in tepidity.
Father Croiset.
• ••••• •
Howsoever long you may have lived, howsoever perse-
vering you have been in doing well, oh ! do not say, " It is
enough, I am all right now ; " for this would be as much
as to say, " It is sufficient, I will now begin to slacken and
fall off.1*
St. Augustine.
On Psalm lxix.
Digitized by
THE MERCY OF GOD,
35
10. — jflDn tfje fl^ercg of (Son.
Father Faber and
Father Claude de la Colombiere, S.J.
" How great is the mercy of the Lord, and His forgiveness to them that turn to
Him." — Eccles. xvii. 28.
MERCY is the tranquillity of God's omnipotence and the
sweetness of His omnipresence, the fruit of His eternity
and the companion of His immensity, the chief satisfac-
tion of His justice, the triumph of His wisdom, and the
patient perseverance of His love.
Wherever we go there is mercy, the peaceful, active,
endless mercy of our Heavenly Father. If we work by
day, we work in mercy's light; and we sleep at night in the
lap of our Father's mercy.
The courts of heaven gleam with its outpoured prolific
beauty. Earth is covered with it, as the waters cover the
bed of the stormy sea. Purgatory is, as it were, its own
separate creation, and is lighted by its gentle moonlight,
gleaming there soft and silvery, through night and day.
His mercy is simply infinite, for mercy is one of His per-
fections, while His love is the harmony of all.
Mercy does not tire of us, does not despair of us, does
not give over its pursuit of us, takes no offence, repays
evil with good, and is the ubiquitous minister of the pre-
cious Blood of Jesus. But love seems more than this.
Love fixes upon each of us, individualises us, is something
personal ; but mercy is something by itself.
36 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
Love is the perfection of the uncreated , in Himself.
Mercy is the character of the Creator.
Mercy pities, spares, makes allowances, condescends;
and yet if mercy is not the reason of God's love, where
else shall we find it in His infinity ?
[Colombiere, Claude de la.— This learned and saintly Jesuit
was born in the year 1641, and yielded up his soul to God at the early
age of forty-one, at Paray le Monial. After a two years' sojourn at
the court of James II. God led him to Paray, to the school of the
Sacred Heart, that he might discover its treasures and make known
their value. " It was distinctly told me," writes the blessed Margaret
Mary, " that this great servant of God had been partly designed for
the execution of this grand design."]
God so pardons our sins, that He blots out even the
remembrance of the greatest outrage. God does not act
as men do. He does not grant half a pardon.
When any one has betrayed our trust, or has mortally
offended us — howsoever we may wish to become recon-
ciled to the offender, or may cherish an earnest desire to
forgive, and strive in our heart to do so — nevertheless we
find it difficult to place the same confidence in him, or to
treat him with the same affection as before; for there
remains in the corner of our heart a tinge of bitterness
from time to time, or when we call to mind what he has
done to us.
Our merciful Lord is not subject to this weakness.
Oh ! would that all sinners who sincerely repent of their
past offences could see in His heart the feelings He has
for them ; — no resentment, no bitterness there ! and how
thoroughly He forgives them.
God does not stop there. Not content with forgetting
our trespasses, He gives us back the merit of those good
Father Faber (Orat.)
Creator and Creature.
THE MERCY OF GOD.
37
deeds which we had lost by losing His grace; He restores
to us those merits and that grace with interest, and He
places us in a position more advantageous than that in
which we were when we fell away from Him.
I am not at all astonished that St. Mary Magdalen had
not, even after thirty years had elapsed, ceased to weep
for her sins, although she could not doubt but they had
been remitted. I am not surprised that St. Peter should
have been inconsolable even unto death for having failed
in his fidelity to so good a Master, notwithstanding the
certainty he had of being forgiven.
Can one be mindful that so good a Master has been
offended without having one's heart torn with grief, and
without feeling a hatred of one's self? Can we, who have
so coolly insulted Him without any reason, having, on the
contrary, a thousand reasons to love Him, we, who have
for so long a time abused His love, His patience, His
blessings, His mercy, can we, I say, recollect this without
dying of regret and repentance ?
It is that thought which redoubles my grief, at having
so cruelly sinned against a God who has so readily for-
given me, who has returned good for evil, and all kinds of
blessings in return for every kind of evil.
Can it be that I shall ever forget the ingratitude which
He has so soon forgotten? that I should forgive my own
infidelities, which He not only has pardoned but has urged
me to accept His forgiveness many a time? in fine, that I
should remain satisfied after having insulted His divine
goodness so often and for so long a time, a God who does
not love me less to-day, and who loves me even more now
than before I had offended Him ?
Le Pere de la Colombiere.
Reflections.
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38 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETCJ
11.— flDn tfje 90ercg of (PoU a$ mantfe^teH
In our 3[Hne00e&
Father Spinola, Pere Nouet, and
St. Ambrose.
" My son, in thy sickness forget not thyself, but pray to the Lord, and He shall
heal thee." — Eccles. xxxviii. 9.
[Father Spinola, saint and martyr, was one of the band of mission-
aries who suffered martyrdom in Japan on the 2d of September 1622.
Urban VIII. placed these martyrs on the list of Saints, and our Holy
Mother the Church celebrates their triumph on February 5.
Father Spinola, a noble Genoese, entered the order of the Society of
Jesus at Nole at the time when his uncle, Cardinal Spinola, was Bishop
of that diocese. So ardent was his desire to shed his blood for the faith
of his Divine Master, that he entreated to be allowed to join the band
of missionaries who were ready to go to Japan. To his joy, his request
was granted, and he, in company with Jesuits, Dominicans, and Fran-
ciscans, reached Japan in 1602.
They, with an indefatigable zeal, worked for the salvation of souls
and converted a large number of heathens. The Japanese authorities
sent Father Spinola and others to a miserable dungeon, and it was
during his incarceration, that Father Spinola managed to send the
following letter to one of his relatives in Europe.
In the year 1622 the saintly Father was condemned to be burned
alive. When the cords which attached his poor weak frame to the
stake, were consumed, he fell on the burning embers, and his soul, now
free from its prison-house of flesh, flew up to heaven surrounded by
the flames of divine love.
How sweet to suffer for Jesus Christ! I cannot find
words energetic enough to tell you what I feel, more espe-
cially since I have been confined in prison, where we are
Digitized by
THE MERCY OF GOD.
39
forced to observe a continual fast. The strength of my
body has left me, but the joy of my heart increases in
proportion to the prospect of a speedy death.
What a happiness it will be if I am permitted to sing
next Easter Sunday the Hcec dies in heaven !
Had you tasted the sweet delight which God has poured
into our souls, you would indeed despise the good things
this world affords. Since I have been in prison for His
sake, I feel that I am a disciple of Jesus. I now find
myself fully compensated for the pangs of hunger, by the
consoling sweetness which filled my soul ; and were I to
be immured in prison for years, the time would appear to
me to be short, so much do I desire to- suffer for Him who
rewards me so liberally for my pains.
Among other illnesses, I have had a fever raging within
me which lasted a hundred days, without the possibility
of being relieved. During all this time my joy has been
so great, that I find it useless to describe it in words.
Father Spinola.
• • • • • • •
When we are in good health there are two things which
usually go far to stifle every sense of the fear of God, and
these are the hope of a long life and the forgetfulness of
eternity.
So long as the sinner is strong and well, the thought of
death never enters into his mind ; or, if it should, it makes
but little impression upon him, because he looks upon it as
an event very far off.
Then comes the judgment (which awaits until that fear-
ful moment), and even the thought of this does ndt affect
him, for he lives as if he never had to give an account
of his misdeeds ; but when he finds himself stretched on
a bed of sickness, weak, languid, exhausted with pain and
overcome with grief, it is then that he recollects that he is
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HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
mortal; and, seeing himself so near that fearful passage
which he had not before thought of, he cannot but be
much alarmed at finding that he is compelled to ponder }
on the danger he is in, and of the necessity of preparing
for the salvation of his soul.
This, then, is the short road by which the Divine Mercy
leads worldlings and draws them back to His service.
That libertine would have gone on carelessly for ten
years more, had not God in His mercy sent him a malig-
nant fever, which has frightened him and made him return
to his duty.
Doctors are accustomed to wound one part of the body in
order to cure another part ; they open a vein in a sound arm
to relieve a feverish brain ; they make use of the cupping-
glass to remove inflammation ; they keep a wound open
in order to be able to close another ; and, as St Jerome
says, the secret of their science consists in restoring health
through pain. Ars medicorum est, per do lore, reddere sani-
tatem.
The Son of God, who is the Physician of souls, follows
the same method to cure sinners. He smites the flesh to
cure the mind, and from illnesses, which are the fore-
runners of the death of the body, He frames a good
provision for the life of the soul.
All the holy Fathers teach us that illness is the school
of Christian wisdom, the dawning of virtue whereby the
mind is invigorated, and the grand means of grace, which
redoubles its strength, through the weakness of the body.
When I am weak, says St. Paul, it is then that I am
strong. I am never more vigorous in mind than when my
body is exhausted with illness and wearied with weakness.
More than this, illness may be said to be victorious over
vice, through the triumph of grace over the passions of the
soul, and a triumph of the soul over the appetites of the
flesh.
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It is then that the sensualist thinks more of his health
than of his pleasures ; it is then that the miser dreams not
of his riches, but sighs for the treasure of health ; then
that the ambitious man throws aside his vanity and builds
no more castles in the air. The gormandiser sobers down
at the sight of death, the envious and vindictive proclaim
a truce ; for the pains of the body soften the bitterness of
the mind.
Is it not, then, a wonderful blessing that Almighty God •
should allow the infirmities of the body to arrest the
impetuosity of our passions?
Rev. Pere Nouet, SJ.
Meditations.
• ••••••
That illness has been your salvation. You have suf-
fered, but your life has not been in danger. This is what
the Lord has said, " I will strike him, and I will cure him."
He has struck you, your illness has awakened your
faith, and that has been your cure.
St. Ambrose.
From his Epistles.
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12.— )3Dn t&e a^ercg of (PoU aa ofcptageo tn
our affliction* and ftribuIation&
St. Chrysostom and Bishop Fleciiier.
" Tribulation worketh patience ; and patience trial, and trial hope."
—Romans v. 4.
Jesus Christ has forewarned us that we should be perse-
cuted in this world. St. Paul, in like manner, says that all
they who wish to dwell in Christ will suffer great afflictions,
not only through the agency of man, but through the
instrumentality of the devil and his angels.
Job emphatically says that the whole of our life here
below, is one chain of temptations ?
Why then should we be so sensitive of tribulations, if
such be the period fixed for all kinds of afflictions ?
You would indeed have just cause to groan if you had
passed through a life of pleasure and sensual delight — a
time which our Saviour has allotted for troubles, vexations,
and mortifications.
If you are inactive, or apt to pine, buckle on your armour
and fight courageously ; if you walk on the broad path
when the narrow way is recommended, what will your lot
be ? what fearful thoughts will be in store for you !
Quote, I entreat you, a single instance of a person who,
after leading a cowardly indifferent life, has participated in,
the reward God has promised to His elect.
We must always keep in mind that our Saviour warns
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us that the gate of heaven is small, that the road which
leads to it is narrow, and that few can find it.
It is evident, therefore, that no one need go astray if he
but follow the right path.
[Flechier, Esprit, Bishop of Nimes, and Sacred Orator, was born
on the ioth of June 1632, at Perues. He enjoyed a considerable share
in the patronage which Louis XIV. extended to all men of letters.
He died at Montpellier, on February 16, 17 10, aged 78, regretted by
all who resided in his diocese. His funeral orations are models of
eloquence.]
To cure the blindness which almost always accompanies
prosperity, the surest remedy is to be found as in the case
of Tobias* gall of the fish, that is to say, in afflictions and
chastisements.
When a violent fever will, as it were, liquefy your bones ;
when you lie on your bed prostrate and full of grievous
pain, you will then see that body for which you have so
often risked your soul, which you have clothed with so
much luxury, that you have pampered with so many deli-
cacies, is but a fragile vessel which the slightest accident
might shatter, and which, of itself, may be broken.
When a preconcerted calumny or any underhand con-
spiracy will cause you to fall Yrom a position to which you
ambitiously aspired, and which position you may have kept
up by intrigue, you will at last be convinced of the nothing-
ness and instability of human greatness.
When age or some unforeseen calamity will efface that
beauty which attracted many admirers, and which in your
heart you wished to preserve, you would be forced to con-
fess that all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
When sent adrift by a capricious master, or betrayed by
a cowardly false friend, you will naturally feel contempt
St. Chrysostom.
44 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
for those from whom you expected protection and assist-
ance, and you will then know that one must not trust to
human support ; but if you wish never to be deceived, you
must place all your confidence in God alone.
Losses and disgrace may be (and often are, thanks be
to God) the means and cause of our conversion. They
excite us to do penance, and make us feel how just is God,
and that afflictions are the best victims we can offer to
appease Him. They try us when we feel a natural repug-
nance to them ; they sanctify us if we accept with humble
submission both evils and remedies together; we suffer
troubles, and acquire merit by our patience ; occasions of
conflict and victory — suffering and longanimity — know-
ledge and practice, go hand in hand together. They are
the merciful means of softening our stony hearts, and who-
ever resists or is insensible to the chastisements which God
sends for his instruction and conversion, his mind and will
will be enveloped in impenetrable darkness. I tremble if I
dare to say so — I tremble for his salvation.
Flechier.
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13.— flDn tfje dKrace of (0oU*
St. iELRED, Massillon, and Bourdaloue.
" We do exhort you, that you receive not the grace of God in vain."
— 2 Corinthians vL x.
[St. ^Elred. — This great saint was born in the year 1169, in the
north of England. Descended from a noble family, and having
received an excellent education, he soon obtained a valuable appoint-
ment in the court of David I., king of Scotland. The seeds of virtue
having been planted within him by a pious mother, he was enabled to
battle against the corruptions of the world ; and even before he deter-
mined to withdraw himself from the temptations, of a courtier's life, he
ever preserved that favourite virtue of our Saviour's, namely, humi-
lity. In addition to this, he possessed an unalterable meekness, which,
according to the Gospel, is inseparable from humility.
In order to detach himself from the world, he quitted Scotland and
went to Rieval, in the county of York. Here he entered the Cistercian
order, and placed himself under the guidance of William, a disciple
of the glorious St. Bernard.
In 1 142, he was elected Abbot of Revesby, in the county of Lincoln.
He died in the year 11 66, aged 57, having been abbot for the space
of twenty- two years. Benedict XIV., in approving of the martyrology
of the Cistercian order, calls attention to the learning, innocence, and
humility of St. iElred. The same Pope adds, that God crowned the
virtues of His servant, with the gifts of prophecy and miracles.]
St. iELRED describes the state of his soul before he
resolved to leave the world, its pomps, and vanities. In
the Life of the Saint by Godescard, the saint says : —
Those who looked only at the external grandeur which
46 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
surrounded me — those who judged of my position in the
world — knew not what was passing within me, and yet they
cried out, Oh, how envious is the lot of that man ! how
happy he must be !
But they did not see my dejection of mind; they did
not know of the insupportable anguish of a heart weighed
down by sin.
It was then, O my God, that I knew of the unutterable
joy I felt when I found myself supported by Thy grace,
and that I tasted of that peace which is now my insepar-
able companion.
• ••••• •
The operations of grace in the conversion of a sinner are
not always the same.
At one time it is a sharp and piercing ray, which, darting
from the bosom of the Eternal Father, enlightens, strikes,
humbles, and overcomes those upon whom it descends; at
another time, it is a more subdued brightness, which has
its progression and succession, which seems to battle for
victory over the dark clouds which it wishes to disperse,
and after a thousand attacks, succeeded by as many
repulses, it remains for some time doubtful which shall
carry off the palm.
Now, it is a powerful God who overthrows the cedars of
Lebanon; then it is the God most patient, who wrestles
with His servant Jacob, and holds him fast in order to
make him enter the right path wherein He invites him.
It is thus, O my God ! that You act as the instructor,
the master of all hearts.
First proof of grace : To conquer a guilty and rebellious
soul, which alone would prevent its conversion, God even
makes use of its guilty passion. He seeks to excite it in
those very places in which the sinner sought for pleasure
and amusement. Saul in his fury runs to Damascus in order
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to persecute the Church, and on his road he is struck to
the ground and becomes an apostle. The centurion rides
up to Mount Calvary to complete the barbarous outrages
of the executioners of Jesus Christ, and a ray of light
descends upon him, and he confesses that He was truly
the Son of God.
A soul experiences trouble and remorse in the very
places wherein it vainly sought for pleasure and satis-
faction.
Grace awaits, so to speak, at the gates of sin and crime ;
and disgust, perfidy, bitterness of soul, disgrace, and other
frightful consequences, are the punishments of the mercy
of God, and the sinner often finds treasures of justice in
the very place where he sought for his eternal loss.
Grace triumphs, when it wishes, over the greatest obsta-
cles, because that heavenly unction changes at will our trou-
bles into consolations, so that by means of this grace that
which was our delight, and which was to us a deadly poison,
becomes a hidden manna, which feeds and strengthens us.
The Holy Spirit of God can, if He will, change the
weakest of men into one so strong and powerful that
nought can make him swerve from his fidelity, no danger
can shake his firmness, no seductive pleasure can corrupt
him ; in one word it is this, that grace, far stronger than
nature, surmounts every obstacle, and attracts all hearts
gently and sweetly which He wishes to convert.
Massillon.
• ••••••
Grace is, par excellence, the gift of God. It is this that
infinitely surpasses every gift of nature; it is the only
source of our happiness, without which we can do nothing,
and with which, we can do everything.
It is this gift which comes from on high, and flows direct
from the Father of Light ; which converts us, and makes
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us new men ; it is that gift by which we are as we are, if,
however, we are something before God, as the Apostle
says, w By the grace of God I am what I am."
Yet, nevertheless (so strange it is), it. is this same gift
which, through our stubborn ignorance, we know not of,
and which, through our unbearable ingratitude, we receive
every day in vain.
Alas ! of what use is it to acknowledge its greatness and
merit if we abuse it nearly every moment of our life.
It is for that, that our Saviour, speaking to the Samaritan
woman, chided her ignorance by saying, * Ah ! woman, if
you had known the nature and excellence of the gift of
God."
Grace triumphant must, so to speak, be subject to us.
Be not shocked at this term, for it derogates nothing from
the dignity of grace. It must be so subject to us as to
well-nigh weary the patience of God, who waits for us for
years without interfering with our free-will. It selects the
place and time ; it seizes the most favourable opportunity
to win us ; it is the first to warn us, and, far from taking
something away from us by force or violence, it entreats
us with prayers and mild remonstrances, it accommodates
itself to our weaknesses, adjusts itself to our humour, and
if at last it makes us realise the blessings of heaven and the
contempt for earthly joys, it is only after having convinced
us by innumerable trials of the solidity of the one and the
frailty of the other.
BOURDALOUE.
On the Samaritan Woman.
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14— flDn tfce ©anctifgmg dftace of (0oti,
Cardinal Bellarmin, Perb Duneau, and St. Leo.
"Where sin abounded, grace did more abound. That as sin hath reigned to
death, so also grace might reign by justice unto life everlasting." — Romans t. 20.
[Cardinal Bellarmin was born at Monte Pulciano in 1542. At
the age of eighteen he entered as novice of the Society of Jesus.
Clement VIII. raised him to the rank of cardinal in the year 1601.
Paul V. wishing to retain him near him, the cardinal resigned his
archbishopric and devoted himself to the Court of Rome until the
year 162 1. He died the same year at the novitiate of the Jesuits,
whither he had retired from the commencement of his serious illness.
This learned cardinal has enriched the Church with several works.]
GOD, when He created man, gave him a free-will, and
this in so perfect a way that, without constraint, without
impairing his liberty, He rules him by His power, frightens
him by His threats, and wins him by His blessings.
He has an earnest wish for the salvation of all, but He
waits for their consent, for their co-operation. It is to gain
them that He warns, that He encourages them, that He
leads them on in so wonderful a manner, so as to bring
them, with His assistance, to that happiness which is their
destiny.
These are the inventions of His wisdom, which the pro-
phet Isaiah says that he will announce to the people
[Isaiah xii.)
For those who are reprobates, at one time He warns
them with mildness, at another time* He encourages them
D
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with kindness, and at another He Corrects them with a
paternal love, according to the disposition in which they
are, and according to their necessities.
This loving conduct is a visible excess of the charity of
our Lord, not only towards the good, but even towards
the wicked, in order that they may be converted and
become good.
All that contributes to our justification is an effect of
His divine grace. It is that which accompanies this great
work, which teaches us by exhortation, which encourages
us by example, which terrifies us by chastisement, which
moves us by miracles, which enlightens our mind, which
induces us to follow wise counsels, which improves our
understanding, and which inspires us with feelings con-
formable to the faith which we profess.
Thus our will is subservient to grace, and acts only
conjointly with it; so that all these helps which God
gives us require our co-operation, in order that we may
begin to carry out the good resolutions which we have
received from His divine inspirations. So, if we should
fall into some sinful habit, we can only impute our fall to
our own pusillanimity; and if we advance in virtue, we
can only attribute our advancement to grace.
The help of grace is given to all in a thousand ways, be
they secret or be they manifest If many reject it, it is
always their own fault; if some profit by it, it is the
united effect of divine grace and the human will.
[L'Abb£ Francois Duneau was born in Rome in April 1752. His
father was a follower of the Pretender. The son at first followed the
profession of barrister-at-law ; but afterwards took orders, and was one
of the early members of the Acade"mie Catholique, established in 1800.
Cardinal Bellarmin.
Opuscules,
THE SANCTIFYING GRACE OF GOD.
51
In 1806 the Grand Duke Ferdinand III. engaged this learned
ecclesiastic to educate his son, but he did not long enjoy his deserved
promotion, for he died on the 4th of October 181 1, aged fifty-nine.
His discourses, called " Discorsi Apologetici? consisting of four
volumes, are well known and appreciated.]
Some holy Fathers, in speaking of that passage, " And
God created man according to His own image and like-
ness," say that man has two kinds of resemblance to God
— the first, signified by the name of image, consists in that
man by nature is endowed with an understanding and a
will like unto God, capable of knowing Him and of loving
Him ; the §econd, expressed by the name of likeness, con-
sists in that man was created in the grace of God, and this
gives him a perfect resemblance to His Creator, which he
had not in his natural being.
From thence it follows, that since God is the essential
and unbegotten beauty, sanctifying grace is the most
perfect, the most noble participator of that beauty ; the
soul which is endowed and adorned with it is infinitely
pleasing in the eyes of God. So much so that a great saint,
to whom was revealed the wondrous beauty of a soul in a
state of grace, used to say that she no longer was asto-
nished that God had willed to shed the last drop of His
precious Blood in order to cleanse it, and by His redemp-
tion, renew every trace of beauty which sin had entirely
effaced.
But if God, who cannot deceive, is charmed with the
beauty of a soul in a state of grace, how is it that we are
so careless in enriching our souls by the practice of every
virtue? Is it not lamentable that we should prefer to
please a wretched being — uncomely though we be — rather
than try to please the Divine Majesty by that true beauty
which He is ever willing to give to those who seek Him ?
We daily witness the pains that worldly-minded people
take in dressing and decking out their bodies, merely for
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the sake of pleasing others ; and often do we witness that
exterior ornaments are sought after and used to hide
their natural defects.
We are careful to adorn our bodies which soon will be
food for worms, and we neglect that most beautiful orna-
ment of the soul which is the grace of God.
P&RE DUNEAU.
Sermon in Advent,
Acknowledge, O Christian, thy dignity, and after having
been made participator of the divine nature, do- not return
to thy first state by leading a life, which would tarnish thy
nobility.
Is it not a gift, exceeding all other gifts, that God
should call man His child, and that man should call God
his Father ?
St. Leo.
On the Nativity.
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15.— flDn Confidence in (Pok
Father Houdry and
Father Claude de la Colombiere.
"This is the confidence which we have towards God : that whatsoever we shall
ask according to His will, He heareth us." — i John v. 14.
[The Rev. Father Vincent Houdry was born in Tours on the
2 2d of January 1630, on the Feast of St. Vincent of Saragosa, hence
his name.
At an early age he manifested a taste for study and piety, and at
the age of thirteen, in 1644, he entered the Society of Jesus. During
the thirty years of his ministry Pere Houdry distinguished himself as
an eloquent preacher. His last years were passed in the library in
the midst of books. Besides being the author of several learned works,
he will be best known as the editor of that stupendous monument of
industry, "La Bibliothlque des Prtdicateurs? and from this work
many extracts have been culled and translated.
He died at the College of Louis le Grand, in Paris, on the 29th of
March 1729, aged ninety-eight years and three months. Although he
was continually reading and writing, he never had occasion to make
use of spectacles. His age and example would lead us to believe,
that longevity of life is in favour of the learned and industrious.]
FULL confidence in the goodness of Almighty God is one
of the sure marks of predestination.
The most criminal, corrupt, or wicked man who sin-
cerely wishes to do penance for his past sins, will find that
confidence in God is an efficacious and sovereign remedy
for all his miseries.
Let him be penitent, let him persevere in hope, he, even-
tually, will be saved. God has said it, God has promised it ;
54 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
is there any reason to doubt the word and promise of Him
who is truth itself?
It is for this reason that hope has been compared to the
anchor of a ship, and this comparison is consecrated by the
Apostle St. Paul in his Epistles.
Should a vessel lose all its rigging in a tempest, if there
still remain an anchor> there is hope that the crew may
yet be saved.
The same thing might be said of the confidence in God ;
and it was for want of having recourse to this that Cain
and Judas perished in their sins.
The first had angered God by jealousy and a cruel
fratricide ; but what put the climax to the curse was Cain
saying in despair, "My crime is too great for any hope of
pardon."
The second repents of the shameful treachery he had
committed against the Son of God ; but, says St. Chrysos-
tom, had he confided in the goodness of his Divine Master,
had he returned to implore His mercy, our dear Redeemer,
who pardoned St. Peter and who prayed for His execu-
tioners, would no doubt have led this traitor back to
penance.
This confidence in God has also another advantage : it
is a mighty help against temptations. This is what the
Gospel says so plainly, "In hope you will find your
strength ; " and again, " I shall hope, and there will be
nothing to weaken me." In fine, what more powerful
than having confidence in God ?
To confide in God, is to lean upon Him. It is to call
for His assistance, His goodness, His truth, His power.
With such arms, what can any one fear ; for what can
prevail against God ? Paratum cor ejus sperare in Domino,
conformatum est cor ejus ; non commovebitur. It is in this
confidence that one finds such fervent charity. This is
easy to see by the difference there is between a presuming
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or a timid love with that which Holy Scripture says will
banish fear.
From that proceeds the saying of the Wise Man, " He
who is animated by charity is like unto an eagle who flies
with rapidity, and who cleaves the air without hindrance."
In conclusion, the Apostle did he not say to the early
Christians, Serve God with love, because to reach perfec-
tion joy and hope are the most efficacious means ?
PERE HOUDRY.
I feel so persuaded, O my God, that You graciously
watch over those who hope in Thee, and that no one need
require anything so long as they look up to Thee in all
things, that I am determined for the future to lay at Your
feet, all my anxieties and troubles. " In peace, in the self-
same I will sleep and rest For thou, O Lord, singularly
hast settled me in hope " (Ps. iv.)
Men may deprive me of property and honour ; sickness
may take away my strength and other means of serving
You ; I may even lose Your grace by sin ; but never, never
will I lose my hope in Thee. I will cherish it unto that
dreadful moment when all hell will be unchained to
snatch my soul away. u No one hath hoped in the Lord
and hath been confounded " (Eccles. ii. 1 1).
I know, alas! I know too well, that I am weak, head-
strong, and changeable ; I know what temptations can do
against the firmest resolution ; I have seen some stars from
heaven fall ; but all these shall not frighten me so long as I
hope in Thee.
I hold myself in readiness to meet bravely all misfor-
tunes, because my hope is not shaken. I hope, too, that
You will help me to overcome every spiritual enemy, that
You will defend me against every assault, and You will
make me triumph over my fiercest pas3ions.
Rev. Pere de la Colombiere, S.J.
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16— flDn Zttil for <Btot»*
i
Fathers Lambert, Croiset, and Nouet.
M I bear them witness, that they have a zeal for God, but not according to
knowledge."— Romans x. 2.
[L'ABBri Lambert, at first the Vicar-General of the diocese of Meaux,
was afterwards appointed secretary to Monseigneur de Juigue*, Arch-
bishop of Paris, and with him he travelled through Germany, France,
and England. In addition to other works, this saintly servant of God
published a life of Archbishop Juigue*.
The good abbe* died in Paris, on the 1 ith of June, 1836.]
We read in the annals of ecclesiastical history that the
prefect Modestus was sent to St. Basil, at that time, Bishop
of Caesarea, with a message from the emperor, threatening
him with his vengeance if he continued to exercise his zeal
for the conversion of his subjects. The prefect made
specious proposals, and told the saint that much might be
expected from his masters generosity if he would but
moderate his zeal. Promises succeeded menaces, for such
as these are all that man can do. St. Basil replied that,
where God was concerned, there is nothing more important
for His servants to do, than to be firm in the exercise of
their ministry.
The following portion of his reply is taken from the
twentieth oration of St. Gregory of Nazianzen : —
" When there is any question of our essential duties, we
will be as obliging and as humble as our rules prescribe;
we should be sorry to show any arrogance, not only to
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57
emperors or kings; but even to the lowest of men. But
when the interests of God are concerned, we should recog-
nise no human consideration, as we look to God alone.
The most frightful torture, far from alarming me, would
give me joy.
" Threaten as you will, put all kinds of outrages into
execution, do your worst, go tell your master ; for you will
gain nothing. Were you to reach the height of your cruel
threats, you will never be able to force us to subscribe to
your impious doctrines."
The prefect, astonished at his firmness, told him that no
one had ever spoken to hifn in that bold way.
" Perhaps," replied the saint, "you have never spoken
to a bishop before."
Father Lambert.
Adapted from " Discours Ecclkiastiques?
It is an error to suppose that priests and missionaries
ought alone to be zealous. There is not one who has not
a mission to fulfil, without going out of his state in life ; not
a single person who ought not to connect his own salva-
tion with that of his brethren. Your own sanctification
is, of course, your first and greatest business. Every one
should look to this ; but every one is bound to edify his
neighbour, by giving a good example. This zeal is com-
mon to all, and to all conditions of life.
Are you in office, have you inferiors, have you the cares
of a family and servants? Few professed missionaries
have so much to answer for, and have to give an account
of their salvation as you have.
Take especial care not to neglect this duty; do not
leave it to others ; watch continually over the conduct of
those whom God has confided to your care. Children,
servants, inferiors, are all, so to speak, so many trusts of
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which you are liable to render an account to your Sove-
reign Master. Besides the efficacy of a good example,
you are called upon to give them education, instruction,
and good advice.
Watch over the manners of your children and servants ;
with regard to morals and religion, pass over nothing ; do
not suffer any one to give them bad example; check,
warn, and correct with zeal and mildness.
In whatever condition of life you may be, remember
that you have to fulfil the duties of an apostle. Christian
charity obliges you to take to heart the salvation of your
brethren, and do not forget to do all you can to obtain this
desirable object.
It is not solely by preaching that the conversion of many
are brought about ; there are other ways much more effica-
cious. A kind word in season, a warning, a charitable
advice, a good example, an alms — all these may be used
with a zeal truly apostolic.
There is no father or mother who can fail to do an
immensity of good in the home and with the servants.
What good cannot a superior in a community do, if he
is animated with a pure and ardent zeal and an exemplary
piety ! What an immense benefit could princes do at the
court and in their estates if they had at heart the truths of
our holy religion ! Would not honour, honesty, and justice
then reign throughout their lands ?
Croiset.
Annie Chr&ienne.
• • • • • • •
The will of My Father, says His divine Son, and the
reason He sent Me, is to save souls, and not to lose one
He intrusted to Me. In fact, as God has nothing more
dear to Him than the salvation of men, so nothing is more
pleasing to Him than to see them withdrawn from the
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abyss and led into the right path. Nihil ita gratum est
Deo et ita curce, ut animarutn salus, says St. Chrysostom.
It is the favourite theme of Holy Writ, the omega of all
the mysteries, the centre of His love, the end of all His
designs and of His labours ; for which, as says St. Augus-
tine, He created the heavens, extended the seas, and formed
the foundations of the earth. And what is of greater value ?
for this He sent His only Son.
This is the reason that St. Gregory the Great gives
when he tells us that we cannot offer to the Almighty a
more pleasing service than a zeal for souls ; and St. Chry-
sostom assures us that we can do nothing more agreeable
to God than to sacrifice our life to the common benefit of
all men.
Meditate awhile on this, you who have so many persons
under your charge and direction ; and at least, if you can-
not place them in heaven, try not to lose one whom God
has given to you to direct and govern, to whose hands He
has confided under your care, so that you may be able to
say with our Saviour, Quos dedisti MiAi, non perdidi ex eis
quemquam.
PERE NOUET.
Meditations.
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17.— flDn tfje 3fncarnatfom
St. Bernard, St. Athanasius,
Pere Louis de Grenada,
and St. Jerome.
" Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called
Emmanuel." — Isaias viL 14.
[St. Bernard was one of the most influential ecclesiastics of the
Middle Ages, He was born at Fontaines, in Burgundy, A.D. 1091. In
the year 11 13, he became a monk at Citeaux, and at the early age of
twenty-four, was elected Abbot of Clairvaux. At that time Clairvaux
was a savage desert, but St. Bernard made it teem with fertility. He
wished that his monks, while serving God, should also be useful to
man, and he prescribed that each of them in his turn, and according
to his capacity, should attend to manual labour and study.
St Bernard was called the honeyed teacher, and his writings were
styled a stream from Paradise.
He died in the year 11 53, and was canonised by Alexander III. A.D.
1 1 74-]
I HAVE often thought of, and meditated on, the holy eager-
ness of the patriarchs who so sighed for the coming of the
Messiah ; and I felt confused, and was, moreover, so pene-
trated with grief, that I could scarcely refrain from weep-
ing, so much was I ashamed to see the tepidity and indif-
ference of these unhappy days.
For who amongst us is filled with so much joy in the
fulfilment of this mystery, as did the saints of the Old
Testament, at the promises which so called forth their
longing desires?
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THE INCARNATION.
61
Many, it is true, may rejoice at the celebration of this
feast ; but I am much afraid that it is less on account of
the feast, than through vanity.
[St. ATHANASIUS, Bishop of Alexandria, was born in that city about
the year 296, and died A.D. 373. Forty-six years of his official life he
spent in banishment in defending the Nicene Creed.
The best edition of his life and writings is that by Montfaucon,
3 vols, folio. Paris, 1698.]
The Son of God has taken upon Himself our poverty
and miseries, in order that we may participate in His
riches. His sufferings will one day render us impassible,
and His death will make us immortal.
We should find our joy in His tears, our resurrection in
His tomb, our sanctification in His baptism, in accordance
with what He says in the Gospel : " I sanctify myself in
order that they also may be sanctified in truth."
There is not a phase in the life of our Saviour, which
does not refer to Calvary. The Good Master was born
in the stable only to die on the Cross ; His life, which I
should study continually, would show me all the riches
of His love ; I should see therein all the profound mys-
teries of His incarnation and redemption; I should discover
what I have cost ; I should appreciate the beauty and good-
ness of Jesus, and I shall then cry out, " O happy fault
which has procured us such a Redeemer ! " O felix culpa,
qua tantum ac talem meruit habere salvatorem.
[Louis de Grenada was born in the year 1505, in the city of
Grenada, Spain. He took the habit of St. Dominic, and by his writ-
ings proved himself to be one of the most illustrious of his order.
This saintly religious died in the year 1588. His writings have been
constantly quoted by St. Charles Borromeo, in his instructions to his
St. Bernard.
Sermon on Canticles.
St. Athanasius.
62 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
flock. St. Francis de Sales was never weary of studying his works,
and often recommended his books to his penitents.]
In order that nothing should be wanting to heighten the
glory of this great mystery, before Jesus was born, or rather
from the beginning of the world and from all ages, He has
been promised to the patriarchs, He has been announced
by the prophets, foretold by the sybils, represented through-
out by ancient ceremonies, sacrifices, and every sacrament
of the old law.
And when He deigned to descend from heaven to earth,
by what circumstances, what prodigies, has not His coming
been accompanied, which were but reasonable for so supreme
a Majesty.
An angel sent by God has brought the glad tidings, He
has been conceived of the Holy Ghost, He had chosen the
most pure and holy of virgins to become Incarnate in her
womb, and the body He has taken has been united to the
Divinity from the very first moment of His birth.
Pagans imagined that it was unworthy of the majesty
of God to clothe Himself with a substance so degrading as
our flesh ; but it is easy to show them how this humanity
has been glorified, what riches it has possessed, and, far
from having been a thing below the dignity of God, it has,
on the contrary, considerably added to His glory, by unit-
ing these two natures into one person.
It is in such marvels as these that the wisdom of God
appears more apparent. It shows also, that He alone is
capable of elevating lowliness, of aggrandising that which
is nothing, of filling with honour and dignity that which
was contemptible. For if, by an effect of His goodness,
He had wished to humiliate Himself by becoming man,
nevertheless having taken the nature of man, instead of
receiving ignominy therefrom, He has, on the contrary,
received an infinity of glory, since it was in His power to
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63
do what He would have wished, without making use of
anything but His will alone.
But what words can describe the immensity of the
various gifts with which the Holy Ghost has endowed this
sacred humanity, the first and foremost being, His un-
speakable union with the Divine Word, which is the greatest
of all the wonders which the power of God could make ?
Through that this sacred humanity has been raised
above all that God has created, and beyond anything that
His infinite power is capable of creating ; and in order
that this supreme dignity may correspond with His gran-
deur and magnificence, it has been made the fountain of
every grace. The grace of being the universal Head of all
mankind has been given to Him, in order that, through it
all the treasures of heaven should be communicated to the
children of Adam.
Here is a wonder which in itself is out of the ordinary
course of nature, of which experience has not taught us, a
marvel which reason ignores, of which the human intellect
cannot conceive, which astonishes heaven and earth, which
creates admiration even among the celestial choir; and
this mystery is, that Gabriel the archangel announces to
Mary that " the Lord is with thee," and the accomplish-
ment thereof is the work of the Holy Ghost.
Grenada.
Meditations on the Love of God,
St. Jerome.
Sermon on the Assumption.
64 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
18.— Dn tfje Dtoinftg of 3fejffujef Cfcrtet
11 1 adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us if thou be the Christ, the Son
of God. Jesus saith to him, Thou hast said it"— Matthew xxvi 63, 64.
[Pierre B£rulle, Cardinal of the holy Roman empire, was born in
1 575, at the Chateau of Shrilly, near Troyes, in Champagne. He early
distinguished himself in the famous conference of Fontainebleau.
Henry IV. appointed him as his Almoner, and sent him to Spain to
bring some Carmelites to Paris. It was principally through his exer-
tions that this glorious order flourished in Paris. Some time after his
return from Spain he founded the Congregation of the French Oratory,
of which he was the first general. This institution, founded on that
of St. Philip's Oratory, is nevertheless so different in its rules, &c,
that it was found necessary to make it a separate congregation. The
French Oratory was sanctioned by Paul V. in 161 3, and it brought
into notice many men illustrious for their learning and piety. Dis-
putes raised by a powerful party did much harm, but very many of
the congregation remained attached to the Church and to the decrees
of the holy Roman pontiffs. Urban VIII. rewarded BeVulle's merits
by a cardinal's Hat. Henry IV. and Louis XIII. both wished the
cardinal to accept the offers of important bishoprics, but nothing
could induce him to alter his first plan of life. Simplicity, modesty,
poverty, and temperance were ever his favourite virtues. It is said
that he never passed a day without offering up the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass, and he died of apoplexy at the altar, a little before the conse-
cration, on the 1st of October 1629, aged fifty-five years. Among his
iriends and admirers of his virtues may be named St. Francis de Sales,
Caesar de Bus, and Cardinal Bentivoglio.]
After having meditated on our Lord and Saviour in His
eternal generation, should we not then take into considera-
tion His temporal generation ? They are both ineffable.
Cardinal Berulle and Prrb Dozennes.
THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST.
65
Generationem ejus quis enarrabit (Jsaias liii. 8). Who shall
declare His generation ?
Jesus is equally great in His humiliations, because He
is always God. Admiration is almost our sole portion.
In fact, how wonderful it is, that Jesus should have united
the privileges of His divinity to the meanness and misery
of our human nature, and that, without ceasing to be a
God infinite, eternal, immense, immortal, independent, He
should have become a God-man enclosed within the narrow
confines of a body, of a stable, and of the swaddling-clothes
that enveloped Him in His infancy ! That Jesus should
have personally united our meanness with His grandeur,
our mortality with His immortality, His divine nature
with our human nature, becoming Son of Man and Son
of the Virgin Mary for all eternity, as from all eternity, He
is Son of God and only Son of the Eternal Father ! We
must adore Jesus in this new condition and in this pro-
found mystery, in the unity of His divine person and in
the diversity of their natures — the one divine and eternal,
the other human and temporal.
It is with this view that, raising our hearts to You, O
Jesus, to pay You our homage, we adore You as receiving
Your everlasting essence from the Eternal Father, and as
giving Your essence and substance to human nature ; that
You have united to Yourself for ever a union so intimate,
so mighty, so glorious, and so divine.
Oh, adorable state! oh, ineffable mystery! oh, happy
moment of the Incarnation, which makes man God and
God man, which gives to heaven a King of glory, to earth
a Sovereign, to the angels a Redeemer, and to men a
Saviour ! O God, who has willed that Your only-begotten
Son, who, being God from all eternity in You, should have
been made man in time and eternity for us, grant us the
grace of ever honouring that wondrous life and that divine
Word, in order that we may be animated with His Spirit
E
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on earth, and that we may rejoice with Him in heaven by
constantly meditating on Him who is pur life and glory.
Card, de Bkrulle.
On the Grandeurs of Jesus.
Extracts from a book entitled " Tlie Divinity of Jesus
Christ? by Le PiiRE Dozen nes.
To convince the Jews that Jesus Christ was really and
truly the Messiah they expected — promised by the law
and foretold by the prophets — miracles were necessary so
as to make unbelief inexcusable, and which ought to have
compelled them to say with Nicodemus, " We know that
Thou art come a teacher from God, for no man can do
these signs which Thou dost unless God be with Him "
(John iii. 2) ; for if the Son of God was not manifested by
means of miracles, His divinity would not have been
acknowledged, inasmuch as the humble life of the Saviour
seemed to be incompatible with the Supreme Majesty.
Jesus Christ himself has He not said that if He had
not performed works which only a God-man could accom-
plish, the Jews might have had some reasonable excuse
for rejecting His testimony, and would not have acknow-
ledged Him as the Messiah ? His miracles, then, had
authorised His mission and manifested His divinity; al-
though it may be said that, in fact, there have been false
miracles and wicked impostors.
The miracles of the Saviour are attested by unimpeach-
able witnesses and by authentic testimonies ; the reputa-
tion of His miracles attracted around Him crowds of
people who could not all be deceived, and five thousand
persons witnessed the multiplication of barley loaves, with
which they were fully satiated.
I am aware that the Pharisees and scribes wished to
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THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST.
67
take no heed of facts which they attributed to the illusions
of the devil or to the agency of magic ; but what connec-
tion can there be between light and darkness ?
Have there never been professors of the black art who
perform prodigies ? Have not magicians professed to cure
the blind and raise the dead ?
Besides, a man so incontestably holy as Jesus Christ
was, was it meet and proper to make use of the power and
ministry of the devil ? And the devil, on his part, would
he have made use of a man who could have made his idols
powerless, his oracles mute ? How, then, could you recon-
cile with the magic art, works which are only done in
confirmation of a doctrine which abhors all diabolical
operations ?
More than this, have not these wondrous performances
been examined by the severest censors, submitted to the
most rigorous critics, and to the inquiries of judges far
from being favourable to Jesus ?
At the sight of these miracles, how many persons of
consequence among the Jews have acknowledged Him to
be a Prophet sent from God ? How many others who,
believing in their hearts, have not dared to make a public
profession of faith for fear of being banished from the
synagogue ? And since that time, have not Celsus, Por-
phyry, Julian , the Apostate, Mahomet — the greatest ene-
mies Jesus Christ ever had in the world — have they not
honestly confessed that He was a man of miracles, thereby
giving testimony of His doctrine, His merit, and conse-
quently of His Divinity ?
• ••••••
The angels have honoured the Word Incarnate on His
entry into the world, and have acknowledged how much
is the Son of God above His servants : " Being made so
much better than the angels, as He hath inherited a more
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excellent name than they" {Hebrews i. 4). They have
served Him during His mortal and suffering life, as also
in the sacred position of His immortality. This is what
the following words intend to convey : " Amen I say to
you, you shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of
God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man"
( John i. 51). They have ministered to Him, I say, during
the whole course of His life, and you know the service
they gave Him in the desert after the devil had tempted
Him ; they consoled Him in His agony, they wept for His
death in a manner which angels only can shed tears:
"The angels of peace shall weep bitterly" {Isaias xxxiii.
7). They joyfully announced His resurrection to His dis-
ciples, they accompanied Him everywhere whilst He dwelt
visibly on earth, they formed the procession and joined in
the triumph on His entry into heaven, they will be His
escort on the day of the last judgment, they will gather
around Him in heaven for ever and ever; the noblest, the
highest in the choir will esteem themselves happy to be
beneath His feet, and, angels as they are, they will gladly
acknowledge a man as their King on the throne of God
itself.
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BELIEF IN CHRIST OUR LORD.
«9
19.— j©n "Belief in C&rfet our ILorD.
Massillon, Bishop Fromentiere, and
St. Jerome.
" Go and teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." — Matthew xxviii. 19.
Incredulous mortals are still to be met with, who, after
the accomplishment of all that has been foretold — after
having seen the consummation of the mysteries of Jesus
Christ— the excellence of His Gospels— the manifestation
of His miracles — the wisdom of His precepts — the vanity
of the pomp of ages — the destruction of idols — the utter
confusion of the Caesars — the plots of the whole world
against Him ; there are, I say, still to be found men who
doubt of the truths of His holy religion, who ask for fresh
miracles, and who encourage those who try to confute or to
ridicule what the labours of the apostles have effected, what
the prudence of so many missionaries have established —
what innumerable miracles have confirmed — what the purity
of so many virgins have honoured— what the austerity of
hermits have sealed — what the sacrifice and detachment
of so many servants of God have authorised, and what the
example of so many grand saints have inspired.
It is that a religion of seventeen centuries, ever the
same, ever consistent and universally accepted by the
world, seems to have maintained its authority.
For in the midst of the triumphs of Christianity there
have continually risen rebellious children against it, children
whom the Almighty has given over to the pride of their
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self-conceit, to the misguidance of their reason, to the cor-
ruptions of their mind, who blaspheme what they ignore,
who deny what they do not understand; of wicked men
who pervert the grace of God, convert light to darkness ;
of disobedient men who despise every rule, who reject all
authority not their own, who defile all their ways like unto
animals without reason, and who are waiting to be sum-
moned to suffer the punishment for their blasphemy at
the judgment seat of God.
The Church of Jesus Christ has found the whole universe
to be docile and submissive to its precepts ; the Caesars, to
whom she forbade luxury; nations, on whom she enforced
obedience, to whom she preached suffering ; to the rich, to
whom she recommended poverty ; to the poor, to whom
she enjoined resignation; to all, to whom she preached
mortification, penance, and self-denial. This faith, how-
ever, and this religion, preached by twelve poor sinners
without science, without talent, without support, without
favour, has overcome the world, and has made it acknow-
ledge the truths of its inscrutable mysteries ; and the folly
of the cross has proved to be wiser than all the wisdom of
ages.
What more ! My brother, all turn against the Church ;
yet that only serves to increase its power. To be loyal
and to be a martyr was the same thing, and the more
violent were the persecutions the more it acquired strength,
and the blood of the martyrs became a fruitful seed ot
Christianity.
Massillon.
[Jean Louis de Fromenti&re, Bishop of Aire, was born in 1652
at St Denis of Gastines. In the year 1672 he was commissioned to
preach the Advent sermons before Louis XIV. He died in 1684,
universally regretted by his flock.]
It was not the eloquence of the apostles that confirmed
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71
the faith ; their language was simple and plain. It was not
the easy belief of their dbctrine ; it was a God crucified
they preached. It was not the indulgence of their morals;
for they spoke, as their Master did, but of the cross, poverty,
and patience. And how is it that the whole universe has
surrendered to a preaching so novel and so strange ? How
could have so many clever men been able to submit their
.understanding to truths so startling ? How could so many
who, immersed in sensuality, so resolutely embrace a life
of mortifications, if the apostles, the messengers of God,
had not been the instruments of His power, and if those
divine clouds had not astonished the earth by their bright-
ness before watering it with their rains ?
Do you not wonder at the boldness which twelve poor
sinners displayed when they parcelled out the world
among them ? It is said that the successors of Alexander
divided it, but it was already a world conquered ; instead
of this, the apostles dispersed to conquer. One had the
task of subduing Asia, another Egypt, another Judea and
those countries which the conquest of nations had not
reached.
What is more surprising, they all succeeded, and by what
means ? And this is more wondrous still, by a doctrine
contrary to sense and reason (at least in appearance), by
preaching a God crucified.
Bishop Fromentiere.
The Master of that religion has been crucified. His
servants have been chained down like criminals, and yet
for all that, His religion grows and flourishes every day.
St. Jerome.
Epistle, No. L.
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20.— Dn t&e Eotie of 3[e0U0 for Qpztu
PfeRE EUSEBE DE NlEREMBERG.
" As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love."
[Jean Eusebe de NIeremberg was of German extraction, but was
born at Madrid in the year 1590, and died there in 1658 at the age of
sixty-eight. He belonged to the Society of Jesus, and was a most
penitent and mortified priest, and, in addition to this, a hard-working
author ; for he wrote many learned treatises in Spanish, German, and
Latin.
The following extract is from a little work written by Le Pere
Eusebe Nieremberg, entitled " Jesus Amabilis? This book was ori-
ginally written in German ; Le Pere Brignon translated it into Latin,
now rendered into English.]
Can we have any conception of a greater love for men
than that of our Saviour, since, however wicked or un-
grateful we may have been, He does not cease to love us ?
He forgives us our trespasses so readily that one would
say that He was under an obligation to us. He rewards
us for pur good works liberally, never revealing how much
He has contributed towards their performance. He, as it
were, magnifies the little services we pay Him, without
letting us know the immense assistance He has given us.
Although, in fact, we have done next to nothing for
Him, He does not cease to be grateful, and showers down
graces with profusion, just as if we had rendered Him
some important service.
Ah ! Heart of Jesus — Heart truly liberal and full of love
— John xv. 9.
THE LOVE OF JESUS FOR MEN.
73
— who gives us everything, and to whom we owe all, and
who by His own gifts, makes Himself our debtor! After
that, who could fail to love Him with all their heart, with
all their mind and all their strength, and offer up repeated
acts of thanksgiving for goodnesses so bountiful, love so
generous ?
• ••••••
If we ought to love our Saviour for the many blessings
He has bestowed upon us, we ought no less to love Him
for the many misfortunes from which He has delivered us,
and from which only He could have freed us.
It is He, who has had compassion on us, and who, being
our only resource, has taken upon Himself to pay all our
debts and to expiate, by a cruel and bloody death, all our
sins ; it is He, then, who alone has redeemed the human
race from misfortune in which He was so willingly en-
gaged ; it is He who has drawn us from hell, who, having
broken our chains, has made us free. Alas ! without Thee,
where should we be now ? We should have been cast into
the darkness of the abyss. It is He who from darkness
has revealed to us the light of day, who from this dark
abyss has shown us the way to heaven, to which we are
entitled to aspire. What should we be without Him but
a mass of dust and corruption? It is He who has so
cleansed us that we are like unto the angels ; in one word,
it is He who, making us sharers in His gfory, has delivered
us from every kind of misery, who has replenished us with
blessings without number.
And after all this, can we possibly be ungrateful, can
we have but little love for Him? We ought indeed to
look upon Him as our greatest benefactor.
If the meanest of men had rescued us from perilous
danger, although without much exertion, should we not
take a liking to him ? What feelings of gratitude ought
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we not therefore to cherish for One who has rescued us
from dangers without number — a Saviour who, to show
His love, has so generously shed every drop of His
precious Blood ?
O my Saviour and my God, how can we sufficiently
repay You for Your infinite goodness — You who have
delivered us from the tyranny of the evil one, from the
bondage of sin ?
For let us try to realise, if we can, what is the extent of
the misery from which the Saviour has delivered us ; medi-
tate seriously for a while and you will not be surprised.
We shall wonder at His boundless love, and offer up
repeated acts of thanksgiving for so many blessings.
A man who walks in his sleep and, without knowing
where he goes, passes over the edge of a precipice, is seized
with a shuddering wonder when he awakens and sees the
danger he has escaped.
Let us awaken and, with the light of faith, look down
the precipice from which the Saviour has withdrawn us—
look down again, and its depth will astonish us.
Many there are who tremble with fear when they cast
their glances from the extreme point of a very lofty moun-
tainous rock; how ought we not to tremble at the sight
of that abyss into which Adam had thrown us and from
which our Saviour has withdrawn us?
Nevertheless the distance from heaven to hell, is not so
far removed, as was the state of sin in which we were, to
the state of grace in which we are, through the merits of
Jesus Christ.
Le Pere Eusebe Nieremberg.
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THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD.
75
21.— Dn tfje JSatftritg of our ILorD.
PtRE du Jarry and St. Augustine.
" And she brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling-
clothes, and laid Him in a manger." — St. Luke ii. 7. *
[Laurent Juillard du Jarry was born, in the year 1658, at Jarry, a
village near to Saintes.
Soon after he was ordained, he became celebrated as a preacher,
and, in addition to this, he was acknowledged to be an excellent poet.
He died in the year 1730, at the Priory of N6tre Damedu Jarry, in
the diocese of Saintes.]
My brethren, let us gaze upon the Son of God in the
poverty of His birth. What does He not say to us there ?
Let us enter in spirit into the stable ; we shall hear a voice
issuing therefrom, saying —
Blush at having beautiful houses like unto palaces, such
grand furniture, so much useless apparel, whilst I have only
a crib instead of a bed, and two vile animals for company.
Blush in those magnificent rooms wherein you try to be
sheltered from the least inconveniences of the season,
whilst a half-exposed stable leaves Me a prey to all the
hardships of a cold season.
Blush at the aversion you have for every kind of humi-
liation, at the precautions you take to continue in a condi-
tion that flatters your vanity, at the artifices you employ
to conceal a poverty you ought to be proud of, at the
contempt you display to all, who are not within the pale
of your society.
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Blush to bear perchance the insignia of the poverty and
humiliations of Jesus Christ in your state of life, and yet
try to aspire to the pomp and luxury of the world shining
around
Let us contemplate this scene as faith points out ; let us
enter this manger in spirit ; let us see this hidden Deity
who, in the darkness of night, when all creatures are
silent — in want of every necessary, and is made poor to
enrich us.
This Child is born in an empty stable, deserted by every
one ; it is the God who created them, and whom they
obey; it is the everlasting Wisdom which assists at all
the councils of God, and which it has possessed from the
beginning of time.
This divine wisdom, hidden in the limbs of an infant,
was begotten in the brightness of the saints.
Ungrateful, deluded man, you who have not wished to
know this divine wisdom in the richness of His beauty, see
Him now in the poverty of a stable! Laden as you have
been with so many benefits and blessings, you have not
recognised the hand which has spread them over you with
such profusion ; you have closed your ears to that striking
voice which appeals to you with as many mouths as there
are creatures: O man, adore thy God! His ingenious
love has suggested another voice to persuade you : He
teaches you through the poverty of the crib : " Now there-
fore, my children, hear me" (Prov. viii.)
Ah, my brethren ! what does not this divine Child say,
that eternal Word which is now so silent ?
No occasion to seek for rules of piety to lead us on, for we
learn all that we need know and practise in this adorable
book. All the prophets, all the doctors, all the apostles
speak through the mouth of Him who has opened theirs.
The stable at Bethlehem is the school where all Christians
ought to study the science of salvation. All the ways to
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77
heaven, every path of virtue, begin and finish through Him
who is the Alpha and the Omega, and being the way,
the truth, and the life, He has opened the way to heaven
to all.
Providence of my God, exclaims St. Bernard, how won-
derful art thou! Carnal and animal creatures have no
conception of the works of God. Even wisdom itself is
made flesh to make it intelligible to men of flesh.
It is no longer through men, full of a holy fear, that God
proclaims His oracles ; mysterious messages in shrouded
language, no longer issue from the mountain top amidst
thunder and lightning; these are heard no 'more. It is
from the farther end of a grotto, it is from the height of a
crib, it is in the silence of night, it is the mouth of a Child
wrapped in swaddling-clothes that the Incarnate Wisdom
exclaims, "Behold to thee, wisdom is manifested in the
flesh."
Come, ye profound philosophers, ye refined politicians,
ye clever men — enter into the stable; there is your lyceum,
your academy, deposit your proud learning, your studied
lessons, your captious rhetoric at the feet of this adorable
Doctor who exposes the vanity, errors, and littleness of
everything.
Let all the fire of eloquence, all the pride of wisdom, all
the subtlety of philosophy, all the refinements of policy
disappear at the sight of this divine Child : Ecce tibi in
came exhibetur sapientia.
Preachers of the Gospel, happy organs of that eternal
Word who sends you ; you who, as well as St. John the
Baptist, are only voices to proclaim the glory of God in
every temple, kneel before this Child and acknowledge the
Master who has loosened the tongues of the prophets and
apostles, who has inspired the martyrs and young virgins
with words that astonished tyrants and confounded pagan
philosophers; and when you shall have adored Him silently
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and humbly, lost in wonder, speak and consecrate every
ornament of eloquence to the praise and glory of Him who
has endowed you with gifts.
Happy the docile listeners who, opening their hearts to
that invisible Preacher who speaks to them through your
mouths, can hear the voice of our Lord in those of men !
Teach us then, O Child divine ! We speak in Your place
simply to exhort Christians to hear You instead of hear-
ing us.
Du Jarry.
On Christmas- Tide.
Would you wish to know who is He, who is born in this
way ? Learn, then, who He is, and how mighty is He. It
is the Word of the Eternal Father, the Creator of the
universe, the Peace of the world, the Saviour of men, He,
who is the joy and hope of the just.
The glory of this Child was, that a virgin should bring
Him forth into the world, and the glory of the Virgin
Mother was, that she should have for a Son, a Man who
was at the same time God.
St. Augustine.
Sermo* de Tempore.
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THE CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD.
79
22.— Dn t&e Circumriation of our ILorD*
Bourdaloue and Father Faber.
" And after eight days were accomplished that the child should be circumcised,
His name was called Jesus." — Luke ii. 12.
I am not come to destroy the law or the prophets." — Matthew v. 17.
On this, the Feast of the Circumcision, our Saviour, the
Son of God, teaches us how we should co-operate in the
great work of our salvation, and He gives us a means as
divine as it is indispensable and necessary, namely, that
mysterious but real circumcision of the will and heart — a
circumcision for which He frames a law, of which He
explains the precept, and of which He facilitates the use.
He proposes the circumcision of the heart, and He
makes it necessary ; for though He does abolish the old
circumcision, or, to speak more correctly, the ancient
circumcision finishes with Him only because He estab-
lished the new, and, as St. Augustine says, He makes use
of the shadow and figure only because He brings forward
the light and the truth : Suscepit umbram allaturus lucem,
suscipit figuram daturus veritatem. Now this light and
truth were, that we should all be circumcised of heart, as
the Jews were according to the flesh.
Circumcision of the heart, a cutting off of useless and
inordinate desires, uneasy and fantastical wishes, immo-
derate and ill-regulated longings, carnal and worldly de-
sires, criminal and unlawful wishes — all of which take root
in the heart and corrupt it. This is how St Paul under-
stood it ; and because these pernicious desires are excited
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in us by vain objects which delight us, by false interests
which blind us, by dangerous occasions which drag us
onward, and pervert us. This circumcision of the heart
ought to be an entire separation from such objects, a
complete renunciation of those false interests, a wise and
wholesome withdrawal from those occasions; for these are
what was typified in the Judaic circumcision. This is how
God prepared the world, when He compelled Abraham
and all his descendants to be circumcised.
Now our Saviour proposes this spiritual circumcision as
an indispensable and requisite means to procure our salva-
tion ; for what more necessary than to tear away, stifle,
mortify, and destroy all that is the beginning and cause of
damnation ?
This spiritual circumcision is a circumcision which is not
solely exterior, but which penetrates, so to speak, into the
innermost recesses of the soul : Non qua in manifesto est
circutncisio ; a circumcision which is no longer from the
hand of man, but which is God's work and sanctifies man
in the sight of God — a circumcision which no longer con-
sists in the cutting of the flesh, but in the renouncement
of the vices and the concupiscence of the flesh — a circum-
cision, of which the mind and heart are the two principals
as well as the two subjects ; the two principals, because it
is carried out through them, and the two subjects, because
it is within them — that is to say, it is a circumcision of the
heart which is made, not only literally, but in the fervour
of the will : Circumcisio cordis in spiritu, non litterd.
These are the animated expressions of the Apostle, who
defines what may be called the new circumcision. The
man of the world and a religious ought both to be circum-
cised at heart ; but to compare the wants of the one with
the other, this circumcision of the heart is in one sense
more indispensably necessary for the man of the world
than for the religious, who, by the vows of his profession,
THE CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD.
81
has renounced everything ; because the man of the world
has stronger passions to fight against than a religious,
since he has before him more opportunities of exciting
them ; because the man of the world is much more ex-
posed to be tempted than a religious, consequently he
ought to watch over himself, and should continually try
to deny himself and endeavour to persevere.
After the first step a religious has taken — after that
first sacrifice which has deprived him of everything — it
would seem that there was nothing more to be done ; but
you in the world, what have you hitherto given to God, or
what further sacrifices have you not to make and offer to
God?
BOURDALOUE.
On the Circumcision.
The Child Jesus' Bloodshedding in the circumcision
was another penance of His infancy, which, for many
reasons, may be regarded as a pattern for the unnecessary
mortifications of the saints, if, indeed, any mortification
can be strictly deemed unnecessary even for the most
innocent of the sons of men. He needed not the rite.
He required no ceremonial covenant with God, who was
God himself. That Flesh needed no consecration, which
was already united to a divine Person.
It was a strange, separate, unaccountable Bloodshed-
ding, standing, as it seems, in a peculiar relation to the
other Bloodsheddings ; as it was not only no part of the
redemption of the world, but was utterly detached from
the Passion.*
It did not keep the compact with the Father, which was
death, and nothing short of death ; so that the drops that
were shed were not shed to the saving of souls.
* See Treatise on the Precious Blood, chaps. i. and v.
F
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Was it the homage of the Infancy to the Passion?
Was it, like the bloody sweat upon Mount Olivet, an out-
burst of the Sacred Heart's impatience for the plenitude
of Calvary ?
To Himself truly it was pain, to His mother sorrow, to
Joseph a heavenly perplexity, to the angels a wonder, to
the saints a pattern and a mystery.
Father Faber (Orat.)
Bethlehem.
Jesus Christ is circumcised as the son of Abraham ; He
is called Jesus, as the Son of God.
He whom no one can convict of sin, He who had no
necessity to be circumcised, nevertheless makes use of the
cure for sin, and consents to suffer a shameful and painful
remedy.
We, on the contrary, who do not blush at the hideous-
ness of sin, are ashamed of doing penance ; a sign of
extreme folly.. Thus we are slaves of sin, and we blush at
the remedy, which is still more criminal.
St. Bernard.
On the Circumcision.
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THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS.
«3
23.— flDn t&e $olg I3ame of 3[ejffu*.
PfeRE NOUET, S.J.
" You are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." — x Cor. vi. xx.
Extracts from a book entitled " The Man of Prayer? written
by that servant of God, Le PfeRE NOUET, S J.
There is no work, says St. Paul, but that we should begin
by invoking this holy Name : " All whatsoever you do in
word, or in work, all things do ye in the name of the Lord
Jesus" {Col iii. 17).
Here, then, is the best method we can adopt in our
work and in the whole conduct of our life. If, to make
our life happy, we ought to bless Jesus, morning, noon,
and night, we cannot draw down His blessing more effec-
tually than by invoking His holy Name, which is the price
of His blood and of His life.
It is true, to do this worthily, we'have need of His help;
but He is too jealous of His glory to refuse even this, and
we need not fear but that He will not fail to assist us,
since it is He himself who has inspired us.
Let us then open our hearts to Him, in order that He
may engrave thereon His holy Name ; and if you earnestly
wish to receive His divine inspirations, make yourself
worthy of His promises.
Let us be thoroughly convinced that the greatest honour
we can pay to the Son of God, in His quality of Redeemer,
is to embrace courageously every means which He holds
out to us to save our souls. Our happiness is so mixed
up with His glory, that we cannot be lost without doing
Him an injustice, and to snatch from Him that which is
most dear to Him, namely, our eternal salvation.
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If we have this holy Name deeply engraven on our
hearts, it will not be difficult to imagine but that it should
be often on our lips, that is to say, that we should invoke
it often and often, and that we should do our best to
impress it upon the hearts of others; for it is so sweet a
perfume that it seeks only to be spread far and wide ; it is
a spring so limpid that nothing makes it more plentiful
and clearer than when many come to slake their thirst; it
is a light which ought to illuminate the universe.
Oh! what a joy to be able to contribute in some
degree to the glory of Jesus, and to the veneration of
His most holy Name ! Oh ! that I could induce all men
to pay Him homage, and that I could hear every tgngue
proclaim His praises !
Here is the best and foremost of all my desires, that
at the holy Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in
heaven, on earth, in hell ; and that every tongue should
confess that the Lord Jesus is in the glory of His Father.
Omnis lingua confiteatur quia Dominus Jesus Christus in
glorid est Dei Patris {Phil, ii.)
A true devotion to the holy Name will help to obtain
our own sanctification ; for in saving our own souls, we
accomplish the greatest desire of our Saviour, and we
contribute on our part to do that which adds an additional
glory to Him, which is our own salvation.
Our salvation depends, on the one part, on Him ; on
the other, on ourselves. On His part He has abundantly
supplied us with all that was necessary to complete the
work of that grand, important, and sole hope of a happy
eternity. He has cured all our infirmities ; He has
given us preservatives and wholesome remedies against
all our vicious habits ; He has delivered us from the
power of the devil ; He has reconciled us with His
Eternal Father ; He has paid all our debts ; He has
surmounted every obstacle to our salvation, and, through
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THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS.
85
excess of love, He has shed His Blood, and after suffering
excruciating pains He expired on the cross. But, after
all, if we do not make a good use of His graces, all that
He has done and suffered will be in vain, inasmuch as we
deprive Him of the glory of His holy Name.
In addition to this, the most solid devotion to the
holy Name of Jesus is to love and try zealously to
obtain the salvation of our neighbour. Nothing is so
dear to the Sacred Heart as the salvation of a soul.
His life so full of hardships, His death so cruel, are
evident proofs of this.
How careful ought those to be who have been called
to the ministry of God's Word, and to other functions
which contribute to the salvation of souls who have been
ransomed by His precious Blood.
How glorious to be employed in His service, to have
the power of dispensing the merits of His sufferings and
death.
You whose vocation it is to work continually for the
salvation of those souls intrusted to your care, think
seriously how sad it would be if one soul should perish
through your negligence. But what would it be if, instead
of saving souls, your conduct through life should be a
cause of scandal?
Oh! let us think of what we are and what we ought
to be. We ought to be as so many saviours of men in
our intercourse with the world, edifying them by our
example, instructing them, succouring them, praying
always for them, and by our ardour and zeal doing our
best to secure their salvation.
Listen, then, to the voice of the Blood of that Redeemer
who beseeches you, by virtue of His Name and the
excess of His love, to help Him to make His Name
efficacious by saving souls, and by making them partakers
of the fruit of His precious Blood.
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24.— flDn tfje JFeajrt of tfce OEptpfcang.
St. Augustine, St. Chrysostom, and
Pere Montmorel.
" All they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense, and showing
forth praises to the Lord."— Isaias lx. 6.
It will readily be admitted that the lights and graces
which the Magi received, were immense and extraordinary,
since they were enlightened, outwardly as well as inwardly.
But, truly, could less have been done to convince the
Gentiles, or to draw them to the knowledge of a God-man
whom they had not as yet seen command the waves of
the sea, or raise the dead, or restore sight to the blind — a
God who only visibly showed Himself as an ordinary
child, silent, poor, and weak ?
Nevertheless, if the Magi had had the same indifference
which the majority of Christians have for heavenly things,
they would have perhaps looked upon the star only as a
curiosity, and they would have met perchance to seek for
natural causes to account for its appearance. They would
not have hastened to set out on so long a journey ; and in
delaying to obey the secret order which impelled them
onwards, they would have lost the greatest of blessings.
St. Augustine.
Sermon xxxv. Dc Tempore.
• • • • • • •
St. Chrysostom assures us that God caused the star to
appear in order to convince the Jews of their infidelity,
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87
and to show them that their ingratitude was inexcusable.
For as Jesus Christ came upon earth to call the whole
world to the knowledge of His name, and to be acknow-
ledged and adored by all nations, He opens the gate of
faith to the Gentiles, and He instructs His chosen people
through the medium of foreigners.
• ••••••
God seeing the indifference with which the Jews listened
to all the prophecies which promised the birth of the
Saviour, He summoned the wise men from the East to
seek for the King of the Jews in the midst of the Jews,
and He willed that Persia should teach the former what
they did not care to learn from the oracles of their
prophets ; in order that, if they had amongst them any
men of good-will, this visit of the kings might lead them
to believe, and if they wished still to be obstinate, no
excuse would be of any avail. For what could they think
or say when they witnessed these Magi, guided only by a
star, seeking and adoring Him whom they had rejected ?
St. Chrysostom.
On the Second Chapter of St. Matthew.
• ••••••
No obstacle seemed to be too formidable for the Magi
to overcome, no difficulty could shake their resolution ; for
as soon as they saw the star they felt an inward secret
inspiration, and immediately they left their kingdoms and
carried with them the offerings they intended to present
to Him whom the Scripture calls "The King of kings
and the Lord of lords."
They generously faced danger or death by asking for
the King of the Jews in the capital of Judea.
Happy Magi ! exclaims one of the Fathers, who, in the
presence of a cruel king, boldly proclaimed themselves to
be confessors of the faith.
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The same grace which our Lord has given to pagans,
it may be truly said that He has given to us many and
many a time.
For example, the edifying examples we see, the sermors
we hear, the good books we read, the holy inspirations we
feel, the pious reflections we make, are as so many stars
which shine and guide us on our way.
He calls us, says St. Gregory, through the writings of
the Fathers, through the voice of pastors, through the
illnesses which He sends us, through adversities which
well-nigh overwhelm us. See, continues this holy doctor,
by how many stars we are invited to go to Jesus Christ !
Now, if we wish to imitate our holy kings in the
fidelity which they displayed in corresponding to the
grace of God, let us unhesitatingly follow the star that is
meant to guide us on our way.
What is this way, if it be not the narrow path which
leads to eternal life ?
Let us hasten to enter thereon, and when once we are
there, let nothing discourage us or tempt us to go back,
but let us walk on steadily and perseveringly, until we
have found our Saviour Jesus Christ.
But, alas ! we do the reverse of this. Far from paying
attention to the workings of grace, far from having our
eyes open to perceive the star, far from having the courage
to follow its guidance immediately, some shut their eyes
on purpose not to see the light, and others put off to
another time the carrying out of the good resolutions
which it suggests to them.
PfcRE MONTMOREL.
Homilies,
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INFANCY AND HIDDEN LIFE OF OUR SAVIOUR. 89
25.— Dn tfce 3fnfancg anU $ttfoen ULtfe of
flDur ©atnotm
" He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them."
— Luke iL 51.
Peres Croiset and Nouet, S.J.
It is surprising that the Son of God, having come on
earth simply to glorify His Father by redeeming mankind,
should have passed nearly all His life in obscurity.
During all this time could He not have travelled
through the world to teach men by His doctrine, to edify
them by His example, to convince them by His miracles,
and draw them to the knowledge of the true God ?
The carpenter's shop, was it a dwelling worthy of a
Saviour ? A hidden and unknown life, was this to be the
life of a Messiah ? And so long a retreat, was it neces-
sary for a God made Man ?
It must be so, since He who is wisdom itself and does
all things with consummate prudence has made the choice.
Who is it who had the glory of His Father more at heart
than His only-begotten Son ? and who knew better than
He did how to promote it ? The salvation of man, was
not that the object of His incarnation? and was He
ignorant that the conversion of the universe ought to have
been His work ?
We must therefore come to the conclusion that a hidden
life up to the age of thirty, was more glorious to God than
the most striking miracles, and that the work of our
salvation required that silence and obscurity during all
that time.
What more glorious, what more instructive, than the
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mystery of this hidden life ? The Eternal Father wished
to be glorified by the hidden life of His Son ; the Saviour
prefers this obscurity to all the marvels of an active life.
Ah ! great God, when shall we be convinced that per-
fection and merit does not consist in doing or in suffering
great things for Your glory, but in wishing and doing all
that pleases You ?
The Saviour glorified His Father quite as much in the
poor workshop at Nazareth as He afterwards in Judea did
through His preachings and miracles.
O my God, how foolish are they who feel inclined to
show their zeal only in performing mighty works of
charity! Such as these would say that a hidden life
extinguishes fervour.
The will of God is sought for, by those who put their
trust in Him ; but how many virtues are included in this
one I The Son of God was strictly obedient to Mary and
Joseph ; this is an abridgment of His life, from the age of
twelve to thirty years. Would not one say that obedience
is above every other virtue? for one cannot doubt but
that during that time, Jesus Christ would have possessed
every virtue.
Scripture seems to include all in saying, that He was
perfectly obedient ! Ah ! my God, how important is this
lesson, but it is not relished ! How consoling, my Lord,
is Your example ; but it is not followed ! I have only to
obey, and I am sure of pleasing You.
How short is the path to perfection ! I have only to
obey, and from that time I practise every virtue ! A com-
plete victory over the strongest temptations is attached to
obedience : we are humble, we are solidly grounded in
virtue, when we are obedient.
As for the other wonders which Jesus worked during
that time, He has kept them so hidden that we can but
have a confused knowledge of them. The finest paintings
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are faded when exposed to too much light and air ; but a
hidden life is always safe, and it is God alone who can
help us to it.
To be talked of by the world, to be successful, to be
praised, is, for those who seek it, the reward for purely
exterior good works. If we wish to possess God as a
reward, let us remember that He alone must be our witness.
Le Pere Croiset, S.J.
Retreats.
• ••••••
The love of solitude and the love of silence are two
virtues, of which the Son of God gives us the example in
His hidden life. There are two kinds of solitude: the
first is, that of the heart, which can be practised, even
among the talk and hum of a busy world, by a holy con-
templative mind not affected by outward observances ;
the second is, that of the body, which effectually separates
us from the conversation and sight of men ; but this will
be of little use to us if separated from the first.
Our Saviour has so practised both the one and the other
that it ought to induce us to follow His example. See Him
in Nazareth, where He leads a hidden life ; He is content
with a village, a mean-looking house, a vile employment.
What conversions could He not effect by the mere efficacy
of His word ! nevertheless He lives silently, to teach us to
love retreat ; and this we should never shrink from, when
the glory of God, or the salvation of our neighbour, or any
pressing want, is concerned.
Try to be fond of retirement, so that you may examine
your conscience effectually. You need not be afraid of
losing your time or of burying your talents.
Jesus did not lose the fruit of the least of His labours
when He began His public life, from having been a recluse
until He was thirty years of age.
Pere Nouet.
From " The Man of Prayer."
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26.— 4Dn tfje Ctanjfffitguratfon of our JLortn
Father du Pont, S.J.
"And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter, and James, and John, and
bringeth them up into a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before
them." — Matthew xvii. i, a.
[Louis du Pont was born at Valladolid on November n, 1554. He
entered the Society of Jesus at the age of twenty-one. In Spain, he is
justly considered to be one of the most celebrated masters of the
spiritual life, and his Meditations are models of piety and devotion.
After a life spent in the performance of good works and mortification,
he died in his native city on the 16th of February 1624, aged sixty-one,
fifty of which he passed in the Society of Jesus. His life has been
written in Spanish by the Jesuit Father Cachupin. His Meditations
on the Mysteries, published in 161 2 at Cologne, is a book full of
unction and instruction. His life of Balthasar Alvarez, one of the
saintly directors of the glorious St. Theresa, is intensely interesting.]
THE primary intention of the Saviour in showing Himself
clothed with glory, and His face shining as the sun, was to
manifest a ray of that glory which He had concealed under
the veil of His human body — a happiness He had prepared
in His kingdom for all those who should be faithful in His
service.
He wished also to urge them to carry the cross, and to
teach them that God gives to His saints, even in this world,
a foretaste of the delights and joys of the next. Also, that
the life of those who follow Jesus is indeed a cross, but a
cross accompanied with heavenly consolations and interior
joys so sweet that it corresponds with what He himself said,
that His yoke is easy and His burden light. After that,
should we hesitate to enter into the service of so liberal a
Master — we who know that we shall one day partake of His
glory, and that perhaps He will give us henceforth a merci-
ful foretaste of the happiness He has prepared for us ?
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THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD.
Let us consider for a moment how our Lord and Saviour
was transfigured. It was by allowing the beauty of His
soul, which He had always concealed, to irradiate and
spread itself over His^ body. No sooner had it appeared
than His face did shine as the sun, and His garments
became white as snow. The evangelist would have said
more brilliant than the sun, had there been anything more
luminous to which he could have compared it.
But let us offer up a thousand acts of thanksgiving to
that Divine Redeemer who, for love of us, has up to now,
deprived Himself of that glory so justly His due on this
day of His transfiguration. He deemed it right and just
to manifest His glory, though only for a short time, in
order to be able to finish the work of our salvation.
Could You, my Saviour, have shown me a greater love
by depriving Your sacred body of a glory so just, so grand,
so legitimate, with the sole view of sacrificing it for me
upon the cross ?
Oh ! why could I not give up every earthly joy for the
love of You ? for then I should one day be rewarded in
Thy abode of glory.
• • • • • • •
The holy prophets, Moses and Elias, appeared on Mount
Thabor clothed in glory and majesty. It may be that
their luminous presence contributed to increase the glory
of a Saviour whom they acknowledged as their Redeemer,
or it may have been to show, that the saints should one
day share in the happiness of their Master, inasmuch as
they participated in His labours and sufferings on earth.
Who can describe the joy which filled their hearts when
they saw before their eyes Him, for whom they sighed for
so many ages, with what humility and deference they
adored Him as their God, and what thanksgivings did
they not offer to Him as their Redeemer?
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These holy prophets spoke, says the evangelist, of the
excess which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem ; that is
to say, of the passion which He had to endure on Mount
Calvary, the theatre of His sufferings. Redeemer of man-
kind, what are You saying to them on this joyful occasion ?
What connection can there be between Your passion and
Your glory ? If music in mourning is disagreeable (Eccles.
xxii.), are sad discourses bearable in a time of joy ?
But I see now what it is. Your sweet music is in refer-
ence to Your death, because the love You feel for us
impels You to find a pleasure in the greatest suffering,
and that you wish to teach us by that, that You have never
had a moment of repose without some mixture of pain,
and that the joys of this life which You have implanted
in the hearts of Your faithful servants, are intended to
prepare them for many crosses. Again, as he who
ardently loves willingly speaks of the object of his affec-
tion, so because You, O Lord, loved nothing so much as
crosses, You experienced no greater pleasure than to con-
verse on that cross whereon You would soon be nailed for
love of us.
• ••••••
The place on which our Saviour was transfigured was a
retired spot, suitable for prayer, to show that God does
not reveal His glory in public but in a retreat, when we
are the better weaned from earthly joys, and are the more
likely to reach perfection. Thus Moses and Elias had the
happiness of seeing God, not in a crowded city, but on the
top of a deserted mountain.
How true it is that it is most important that we should
try to love solitude and retirement, that we should raise
up our hearts and say with David, u Who will give me
wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest ? 99 (Ps. liv.)
Louis du Pont, SJ.
Meditations.
FOR MAUNDAY THURSDAY.
95
27— JTor 90aunDag C&uwtrap.
Rev. Pere Houdry, S.J.
" Before the festival day of the pasch, Jesus, knowing that his hour was come,
riseth from supper, and, laying aside his garments, and having taken a towel,
girded himself. After that, he putteth water into a basin, and began to wash
the feet of his disciples, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was
girded." — John xiii. x, 4, 5.
Here is, my brothers, a spectacle worthy of attracting
the attention of a Christian, and to which St. Gregory
the Great invites heaven and earth to be a witness of
the example which a Man-God gives to all. It is not a
light capable of surprising us by its grandeur and magni-
ficence ; the pomp and splendour which usually excite
our curiosity and attracts our notice have no share here ;
but it is the mighty which is abased, it is the Sovereign
of the universe who is willing to perform the meanest
service to poor sinners, — a Master who bends His knee to
His disciples. In a word, it is Jesus at the feet of His
apostles, in order to wash them with those very hands
which had created heaven and earth, and fixed the
stars in the firmament above.
This spectacle deserves our admiration because it
shows us something grand, rare, and new, on which we
should gaze and reverently meditate on a ceremony
which is this day carried out and renewed year after year
on this day and in every church.
Surprising sight, which shows us the Most High Majesty
of the world in the lowest of humiliations !
Oh ! wondrous charity ! since this Saviour finds nothing
96 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
better calculated to win their hearts than by washing of
their feet, knowing that He had to give them His own
Body as the most precious pledge of His love; but still a
sight full of mystery and instruction, as the Saviour says
Himself to the first of His disciples, " What I do, thou
knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter "
{John xiii.)
In fact, He gave them the knowledge by explaining
what He commanded them to do hereafter; and I dare
to say, that it required no less than His example, to lead
them to the practice of Christian humility, of which they
were as yet, ignorant of its practice and value : " For I
have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so
you do, also" {John xiii. 13).
The Son of God had already given a rule of conduct to
His disciples, namely, to take the last place without dis-
puting about precedence or rank ; but in this mystery, He
gives us an example of a deeper humility, for He lowers
Himself so as to wash the feet of those, who were not
worthy to wash His own ; and it would seem that He took
upon Himself, as a rule for His humiliations, the eminence
of His dignity and rank, which He retains over all His
creatures. Ah ! I will not hesitate to say, that after that
this last place which He takes has really become to be the
place of honour, since it is that of a God made man ; that
a similar humiliation exalts us, since it makes us like unto
a God humiliated; and that those acts of humility we prac-
tise in imitation of Him, are really glorious actions, since
they attract the attention of God and deserve His praise.
After that, a Christian who ought to be convinced of
this truth, will he be scrupulous on a point of honour, and
will he believe that it is dishonourable to practise Christian
humility? Will he be able to excuse himself from per-
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97
forming duties so essential to Christianity on the ground
or plea of his merit, his position, his character, or his repu-
tation ? Will he blush to serve the poor, or visit the sick
in an hospital ? Will he feel ashamed to perform similar
humiliating duties to which his religion calls him, duties
which the example of his God obliges him to perform,
since He is the model we ought to imitate?
What a shame rather, for a Christian to be always
scrupulous on a point of honour ; always ready to wrangle
for precedence of rank or honour, resolved to yield to no
one, and to hold in contempt those who are beneath him,
and thus, at last he will fear to lose his reputation, if he
were to follow the example of his Saviour, by practising
any act of humility. Ah ! unworthy pretext of a Chris-
tian, and hurtful to Christianity itself, which is grounded
on humility and self-abasement
PERE HOUDRY, S.J.
On Christian Morals, &>c.
• ••••••
Moses and Elias, that is to say, the Law and the
Prophets, appeared conversing with Jesus, in order that
by the presence of these persons should be accomplished
what is said in Deuteronomy : " In the mouth of two or
three witnesses, every word shall stand " {chap. xix. 1 5).
Peter, emboldened by the revelation of so many
mysteries, full of contempt for all worldly things, raises
up his desires and heart to heaven, and, in a holy
transport of joy, exclaims, " It is good, O Lord, to be
here."
St. Leo.
On the Transfiguration.
G
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28.— c&e Sgonp anD jpaaafon of ©tit: Horn*
PERE DE LA COLOMBIERE, S.J., and
Pere Nouet.
" He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the
cross." — Philippians ii. 8.
An inward grief seized the heart of the Saviour of the
world ; He walked in silence to the place called Gethse-
mani, where, finding that His mortal strength succumbed
to the extreme anguish of His soul, He was perforce con-
strained to appeal to His apostles, as if to ask them for
some relief. " My soul is sorrowful unto death," said He,
and I feel that I must give way to the sadness coming
over Me.
But receiving no consolation from them, He again with-
drew apart, not so much to hide His trouble and His fear,
as to retreat within Himself.
See Him now in a corner of this garden, how pale He
is! how He staggers! how He trembles and falls upon
His face! See His face quite wet with tears, His very
clothes are saturated with a bloody sweat, which flows in
streams upon the ground !
He lifts up His hands and raises His voice to heaven;
He twice goes back to His disciples to complain how little
He is assisted, and twice returns to His retreat ; but no
rest, no calm succeeds.
I know not, my brethren, what is your idea, but I con-
fess that this mystery astonishes me, and is beyond all
comprehension. When I look upon a God humiliated, a
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God sorrowful even unto death, my mind, shallow as it is,
has no difficulty in unravelling this enigma; but a God
troubled in His soul, struck with fear, and sad even unto
death, troubles me exceedingly, and I am lost in thought
What ! this Messiah which God sent down on earth to
be our Master and example, this Saviour who has come
into the world to suffer ; this Saviour who has shown so
much impatience to shed His blood for love of us, — now
that His hour has come, seems to be wanting in resolution.
See Him extended full length upon the earth, bathed in
His blood, suffering for three hours a cruel agony, and
unceasingly repeating those words, " Let this chalice pass
away."
Oh ! my Saviour and my God, the support of the weak,
the strength even of the strong, — mighty soul whose gene-
rous feelings are so raised above every infirmity of man, —
tell us, I beseech Thee, what may be the cause of so keen,
so deep a grief ; for I cannot really believe that fear alone
of that death, which You have taught us to despise, could
have caused You so great an agony.
Le Pere de la Colombiere, S.J.
• ••••••
In your mind's eye draw a lively picture of the Passion
of Jesus Christ. In this sketch, you can represent the lance
which has pierced His heart, the thongs and cords which
are so embedded into His flesh that the thorns and nails
are steeped in blood.
Surely, if you think of these sad circumstances of His
death, and gaze attentively, you must indeed be moved.
Gratitude would compel you to be so ; for, having en-
dured so many tortures for your sake, the least you can
do is, to compassionate His sufferings. Justice requires
it ; for if you feel compassion for any of your brethren,
what do you not owe to the Son of God, who, through
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excess of love, was made man and took His place as your
friend and brother? Humanity alone would prompt you;
for if you saw the lowest of your fellow-creatures in the
condition to which his love for you had reduced him, you
surely would have pitied him.
St. Gregory of Nyssa could never see the painting of
the sacrifice of Isaac, without shedding tears of compassion
and tenderness; for he thought of that innocent victim
who laid bare his neck and awaited the death-blow from
the hands of his own father. If this so moved his pity,
is not the sight of Jesus dying on the cross infinitely more
pitiable? O quantum laboravit sustinens ! exclaims St.
Bernard (Serm. ii.)
Oh, what sufferings has He not endured ! Who could
sufficiently appreciate the excessive goodness and mercy
which induced Him to bear such a heavy weight of
dolours ? Cast your eye on His many wounds ; see the
streams of blood which trickle down ; look at His face, so
disfigured with spittle, mud, and blood ; taste the bitter-
ness of the gall they gave Him to drink; listen to the
blows of the heavy hammer as it drives the nail through
His tender feet; listen to those loving complaints He
sends up to heaven : " My God, my God ! why hast thou
forsaken me ? " {Matt xxvii.) to teach you, the excess of
those interior griefs which you cannot see or understand !
Remember that He is innocent, that He is the Son of
a God who is the God of glory; and if you can gaze on
this, His bed of suffering, without weeping for your sins,
you must confess that you are unfeeling and hard-hearted.
• ••••••
However great may be our miseries, however painful
may be the misfortunes we may have to endure, whether
deserved or not, the remedy we find in the cross and
sufferings of our Saviour is infinitely greater and more
powerful
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THE AGONY AND PASSION OF OUR LORD.
101
One single drop of the blood He shed for us was capable
of paying all our debts, sufficient to blot out all our sins,
and powerful enough to extinguish all the flames of hell.
What would be the value of that deluge of blood which
He has poured over us with such profusion ? If each drop
can. save a million of worlds, the whole mass of that
precious Blood, will it not be able to save a sinner ?
You cannot doubt the efficacy of so potent a remedy,
since it is of inestimable value, nor of the sufficiency of
your ransom, since what He has given is beyond all price.
Every river, when it flows into the sea, loses its name,
because, when compared to the mighty ocean, it is as
nothing in comparison ; and so the greatest sins vanish and
disappear when they are drowned in the ocean of divine
mercy. And if you doubt this still, you are ignorant of
the value of the sufferings and death of the Son of God.
Do you not know that the Apostle says, His blood calls
for mercy for every sinner, even to those who have been
put to death, and it cries out with so loud and powerful
a voice that it drowns the noise and clamour of our sins ?
Do you not know, in fine, that He "gave himself a redemp-
tion for aH" (^Timothy ii.), and consequently that His blood,
His sufferings, His death, and His satisfactions are all
yours ?
Put, then, your trust in Him without troubling yourself
about your miseries; avail yourself of His blood, more
powerful than that of Abel's ; make good use of so powerful
a voice, and do not fear that His Father will reject you,
but only fear that you yourself will refuse. " See that you
refuse him not that speaketh" {Hebrews xii. 25).
For if those who rejected Him, when He spoke on earth,
have not been able to avoid being punished, so we who
reject Him, when He speaks to us of heaven, will have a
lesser chance of being saved.
Le Pere Nouet,
Sur la Passion,
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29.— ^Dn f e*u0 Bfeen.
BOURDALOUK.
" The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men ; and they shall kill
him, and the third day he shall rise again." — Matthew xvii. ax, 22.
" He is risen ; he is not here."— Mark xvi. 6.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ fully confirms the fact
of His divinity.
You will say, perhaps, the Saviour of the world, during
His mortal life, surely worked a sufficient number of mira-
cles to prove that He was the Son of God.
Devils cast out, those born blind cured, those, after a
death of four days, raised again to life ; were not these so
many manifest demonstrations, so many palpable *proofs,
of the divine power which dwelt within Him ? What need,
then, of the more striking proof in His resurrection to
confirm this belief?
I say that the divinity of Jesus Christ was especially
attached to His resurrection : " Who was predestinated the
Son of God by his resurrection from the dead " (Rom. i. 4),
Why ? Because the resurrection of the Saviour was the
proof which this God- Man had expressly given to the Jews
to make them acknowledge His divinity; because this
proof was in fact the most natural, the most convincing of
His divinity ; because of all the miracles of Jesus Christ
worked by virtue of His divinity, there was not one which
had been so incontestably evident as that of His resurrec-
tion of His body ; and because it is that of all which has
most contributed to the propagation of the faith and to
the establishment of the gospel, the substance and main
point of which is to believe in Jesus Christ and to confess
His divinity.
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ON JESUS RISEN.
103
It is not, therefore, without a reason that Jesus Christ
especially insisted on this sign, to make it appear that He
was God and the Son of God. In fact, it only appertains
to a God to say, as He does, " I have power to lay down
my life, and I have power to take it up again" {John x.
18). A God alone, I say, would express Himself in this
way.
Before Christ came into the world, men were seen who
had been raised from death to life, but these were recalled
to life, by other men. Eliseus, by the mere breath of his
mouth, reanimated the dead body of the Shunamite's son,
and through the fervent prayer of Eliseus, the child of the
widow of Sarepta, who died of exhaustion and a decay of
nature, was restored to his sorrowing mother full of vigour
and health.
But, as St Ambrose remarks, they who were restored
to life were so restored through the means of extraordinary
virtues, and those who worked these miracles, performed
them solely by virtue of given graces.
The unheard-of miracle was, that the same man should
have worked a double miracle, namely, that not only of
rising from the dead, but of raising Himself from the tomb ;
and this is what had never been seen or heard of. And
this was the miracle which God reserved for His Son, in
order to proclaim to the world that He was at one and at
the same time, both God and man ; man, because He had
risen from the dead, and God, inasmuch as He had raised
Himself from death to life. Ut ostenderet quoniam erat in
ipso, et resuscitatus homo, et resuscitans Deus, says that holy
doctor, St Ambrose.
It is true that we shall rise again from the dead, because
Jesus Christ is risen again; and in order to crown our
hopes, I add, that we shall rise like unto Jesus, and that
His resurrection is the model of our own.
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For, asks St. Augustine, why had God willed that the
resurrection of His Son should have been so obvious, and
why was the Son of God so desirous to make it known
and to make it public ? Ah ! answers the holy doctor, it
was in order to show us clearly and evidently in His own
person the just extent of our pretensions ; it is in order to
show us what He is, what we ought to be, or what we can
become. I have, then, only to represent to myself what-
ever is most striking, great, and admirable, in the triumph
of my Saviour. I have only to contemplate that glorified
humanity, that body, material as it is, invested with every
spiritual essence, emitting beams of living light, and
crowned with an everlasting splendour. Such, then, is the
happy state to which I shall one day be raised, and such
is the consolatory promise, which faith makes me.
Now, our bodies are subject to corruption and rotten-
ness; now, they are bodies subject to suffering and grief;
now, they are weak bodies, and subject to death; now, it
is only a lump of flesh, vile and contemptible.
But then, by a quick and most marvellous change, they
will have, if I may venture so to speak, the same incor-
ruptibility as a God, the same impassibility, the same
immortality, the same subtlety, the same brightness:
" Who will reform the body of our lowness, made like to
the body of his glory" {Phil. iii. 21).
All that, nevertheless on one condition, and that is, that
we should so labour in the present life, to sanctify them
by mortification and Christian penitence. For, if we have
indulged these bodies, and afforded them whatever a
sensual appetite demanded, and, thereby made them
bodies of sin, they will rise, but how? As objects of
horror, to the confusion and shame of the soul, to share in
her torment, after having participated in her crimes.
BOURDALOUE.
On the Resurrection.
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THE SACRED HEART, ETC., OF OUR LORD. 105
30.— £Dn tfjc ©acreD $eart and tfje JFtoe
@>acreD anountw of our ILorD,
[The Blessed Peter Damien was born at Ravenna in the year
988. From his childhood he manifested a great love of prayer, which
increased with his age. After some years which he devoted to
teaching, he retired to the monastery of Sainte-Croix d'Avellane,
near to Eugubio, and here he was elected prior, and subsequently
abbot, of the community. Pope Stephen X., hearing of his saintly
reputation, called him to Rome, and created him Cardinal Bishop of
Ostia in 1057, and employed him in important offices at the Sacred
Colleges. These offices, Peter Damien continued to fulfil during the
reigns of the three succeeding pontiffs, and on the 23d of February
1073, he ended a holy life by a holy death, and is now ranked
among the blessed in heaven. Besides Letters, Sermons, &c., he
has left us Lives of SS. Odilon, Romuald, and Dominic. An edition
of his works was published in Paris in 1663.]
It is in the adorable Heart of Jesus that we shall find
every help for our necessities, every remedy for the cure
of our ills, the most powerful assistance against the
assaults of our enemies, the sweetest consolation to
soothe our sufferings, the purest delight to fill our souls
with joy.
Are you in sorrow? Do your enemies persecute you?
Does the recollection of your past sins disturb you ? Is
your heart troubled or full of fear?
««
Cardinal Peter Damien, Pere Biroat, and
St. Bernard.
You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour's fountains."
— Isaias xii. 3.
ro6 HALF -HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC,
Throw yourself, so to speak, in the wounds of Jesus
Christ, even into His Sacred Heart ; — it is a sanctuary,
it is the retreat for holy souls, and a place of refuge
wherein your soul is safe.
It is to Him and through Him, that we should ask
for all we require; it is through Him and in Him, that
we should offer to the Eternal Father all we do, because
this Sacred Heart is the treasury of every supernatural
gift, the source of every grace.
It is the channel through which we unite ourselves
more intimately to God, and through which God com-
municates Himself more freely.
It is, in fine, to this Sacred Heart we should con-
tinually strive to unite ours — no longer wishing to have
other desires or sentiments than those of Jesus — and
then we may be sure that His will and His Sacred
Heart may, so to speak, merge into our heart, and that
the two will be as one. Draw waters at leisure out of the
Saviour's fountains : you will never exhaust them.
Cardinal Peter Damien.
Qaques Biroat was born in the city of Bordeaux. He first entered
into the Company of the Society of Jesus, but passed from thence
to the contemplative order of Cluny. He became Prior of Beussan,
and died in the year 1666.]
St. Bernard calls the wounds of our Saviour fountains
of mercy ; not only to tell us that He has received them
through an extraordinary display of mercy and goodness,
but to show us that they are a fresh motive for His Heart
to take compassion on us, and that, since He received
them He is more alive to our misfortunes, when He remem-
bers that He died for us, and that He sees in the scars of
His wounds the proof of His love, and the price of our
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THE SACRED HEART, ETC., OF OUR LORD.
107
salvation. No! He neither wishes to lose the price of
His precious blood, nor the objects of His love.
Consequently, what more powerful and efficacious mo-
tive can there be for a sinner, who sincerely wishes to
repent, than to think of the wounds of the Saviour ?
The holy Fathers call these wounds our eyes and our
tears — our tears, because they impart an abiding sorrow
for sin; our eyes, .because we see in these scars, either
what our Saviour has done for us or what we. have done
against Him.
I see a Heart wounded for us and a Heart wounded by
us; I see, O God, the wounds which You have received
from the hands of the executioners; but I also see the
wounds I have made by my own hands, since it is cer-
tain every sin I commit, I re-open Your wounds ; for so
Your prophet makes this reproach to sinners : " They have
added to the grief of my wounds " (Ps. lxviii.), as much as
to say, I do not complain of My nails or of My thorns ;
your sins have added new griefs to My first torments and
have made wounds which renew and widen the first.
Can we, then, be astonished, if holy penitents have
wept bitterly when they looked on the Sacred Wounds of
the Saviour ? " Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? or
whither shall I flee from thy face ? " (Ps. cxxxviii.) This
is what the penitent David said: O my God! whither
shall I flee so that I may be sheltered from Thy anger
and safe from the terror of my sins ? If I ascend into
heaven, Thou art there; if I descend into hell, Thou art
there; even when I enter into Your Heart, I meet the
reflection of Your justice in the alarm my conscience
conjures up.
St Jerome replies to this question and to this per-
plexity, that it is only in the wounds of the Saviour that
we can find this hope: Ubi tuta firmaque peccatoris
pertnansioy in vttlneribus Christi. These are the sanctu-
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aries, where so many sinners have flown for refuge from
the just anger of God, and wherein we ought to shelter
ourselves, and that for two reasons : firstly, because we see
in the depth of His scars a loving readiness to forgive us,
and give us comfort ; secondly, because we find in these
sacred sources all-powerful testimonies of His mercy and
goodness for men, in which we may easily participate, if
we only diligently try to make ourselves worthy of His
promises.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus has been wounded in order
that by means of the visible wound we may see the invi-
sible wound of His divine love. Who would not love this
Heart so wounded for the love of us ? who would not
return love for love, to a Saviour who has done so much
for us ?
Thy side, O Lord, has been pierced, in order that we
should find an entry into Thy Sacred Heart. Oh ! how
sweet and good it is, to seek repose in that Heart divine !
From my Saviour's sacred wounds, I find out His Heart's
secret : I now can fathom the depths of God's goodness,
for the bowels of mercy which caused Him to come down
from heaven to dwell with us, are open to me.
Le Pere Biroat.
From Panegyric on St. Thomas.
St. Bernard.
On the Passion.
THE MYSTERY OF THE CROSS.
31. — flDn tfce ^garterg of tfte Cro0&
St. Chrysostom and St. Augustine.
"And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that place which is called
Calvary." — John xix. 17.
Let no one, my brethren, blush at those sacred and ador-
able marks of our redemption. The cross of Jesus Christ
is the source of every blessing ; it is through that we live,
through that, we are what we are. Let us carry the cross
of Jesus, and adorn ourselves with so glorious a crown.
It is the seal and fulfilment of everything which appertains
to our salvation.
If we are regenerated in the waters of baptism, the
cross is there, present ; if we approach the table of the
Lord to receive His holy Body, it there appears ; if we
receive the imposition of hands to consecrate us as minis-
ters of God, it is still there; in fact, we see in everything
that adorable sign which is, at once, the cause and emblem
of our victory.
We have it in our houses, we hang it and paint it on our
walls, we engrave it on our doors, and we should ever
carry it in our hearts; for the cross is a sacred monument
which recalls to memory the work of our salvation, the
regaining of our ancient freedom, and the infinite mercy of
Jesus Christ.
When, then, you make the sign of the cross on the fore-
head, arm yourself with a saintly boldness, and reinstal
your soul in its old liberty; for you are not ignorant that
the cross, is a prize beyond all price.
Consider what is the price given for your ransom, and
no HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
you will never more be slave to any man on earth.
This reward and ransom is the cross. You should not,
then, carelessly make the sign of the forehead, but you
should impress it on your heart with the love of a fervent
faith. Nothing impure will dare to molest you on seeing
the weapon, which overcome th all things.
Be not, then, ashamed of the cross, in order that Jesus
Christ be not ashamed of you, when He will come, clothed
in the Majesty of His glory, accompanied by this sign of
our redemption, which will then shine more brilliant than
the sun. Engrave it in your heart, lovingly embrace that
which procured the salvation of our souls ; for it is the cross
which has saved and converted all the world: — it is that
which has banished heresy and unbelief, which has re-
established truth, which has made a heaven on earth, and
which has transformed men into angels. It is by means
of the cross that the .devils have ceased to appear for-
midable, and are now only to be despised ; it is through
that, that death is now no longer death, but only a long
sleep. In fine, it is through the cross, that all our enemies
have been conquered.
If you find then any one who says, What ! you worship
the cross ? answer him with a tone of voice that betokens
firmness : Yes, I do worship it, and shall never cease to do
so. If he laugh at you, pity him, and shed tears for his
blindness ; and say boldly, We protest before heaven and
earth that our glory is in the cross, that it is the source of
all our blessings, our every hope, and that it is that which
has crowned every saint.
St. Chrysostom.
On Sixteenth Chapter of St. Matthew.
• ••••••
All those who belong to Jesus Christ are fastened with
Him to the cross. . . A Christian during the whole course
of his life should, like unto Jesus, be on the cross. It
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THE MYSTERY OF THE CROSS.
in
would be an act of rashness to descend therefrom, since
Jesus Christ did not descend, even when the Jews offered
to believe in Him. The time for driving out the nails of
His cross was only after death, there is then no time to
extract the nails whilst we live, — we must wait until our
sacrifice is consummated : Non est temp us evellendi clavos
{Aug. 205).
This cross to which the servant of God is attached, is
his glory, as the Apostle said, "But God forbid that I
should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ "
(Gal. vi. 14).
This cross, I say, to which the servant of God should
be fastened, not for forty days, but for life ; therefore he
who looks piously upon it should consider it as a treasure,
because it teaches him Christ crucified, and he will despise
everything to acquire a knowledge which is only to be
learned in the school of the cross.
Formerly, it was looked upon as an object of horror, but
Jesus Christ has made it so worthy of respect and venera-
tion that kings and princes have forbidden the punishment
of crucifixion to be continued, in order to do honour to
those faithful servants, who gloried in a punishment which
our Lord and Saviour has so ennobled. And this wood
to which the Jews had nailed our Lord, accompanied as
it was by so many outrages and insults, has become so
worthy of honour, that kings have imprinted it on their
foreheads, and in union with the lowest of their subjects
they look upon the cross of Jesus Christ, as the ship which
will guide and carry them safely into harbour.
So strong sometimes are the storms of life that strength
of arm is of no avail, and there is no other means to save
us from shipwreck than trusting in the Cross of Jesus
Christ by which we are consecrated.
St. Augustine.
From Sermons lxxv. and Ixxxviii.
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PfeRE DE LA COLOMBIERE, PERE LE VaLOIS,
and St. Bernard.
"And the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God." — Mark xvi. 19.
Instead of saying what was uppermost in my mind, why
cannot I repeat the discourse which Jesus Christ made
to His disciples before His ascension ? It would give you
more pleasure, and would doubtless be useful for you to
hear.
Although I leave you, My dear disciples, to go to
My Father, it is nevertheless not without pain that I
leave you; whatever glory may await Me in heaven, if
your interests were not allied to My own, I could not so
readily resolve to separate Myself from you. I came down
upon earth when I thought that My presence was neces-
sary ; if I ascend to heaven, it is because I know that
henceforth I shall be more useful to you when away;
independently of this, the Holy Ghost will soon descend
and take My place, and you will not long remain uncon-
soled.
Go, My apostles, go and teach all nations the truths
I have taught you ; go and undeceive so many poor un-
fortunates who are steeped in vice and ignorance; do
this so effectually, that of all the souls I have redeemed
there shall not be found one lost one; fear neither the
boasted knowledge of doctors and philosophers, nor the
ON THE ASCENSION. 113
•
power of the great ones of the world ; I will give you
wherewith, to confound the pride of both one and the
other; it is true you will have to suffer much, but the
helps you will receive from Me, will soften and sweeten
every pain. Go, then, and merit the rich crowns I am
going to prepare for you.
The apostles and disciples did not long enjoy the pleasure
of hearing Him ; for the Saviour having raised His hand to
give them His final blessing, He began to rise, and soon
was lost among the clouds.
..«•»••
If the father of the prodigal son testified so much joy,
and made so grand a feast for a son, who had not only
dishonoured him; but had been the disgrace of all his
kindred, by having squandered his property in shameful
debaucheries, what must have been the welcome which
the Eternal Father gave to His only Son, who, to please
Him, was worn out with the fatigues of a poor and suffer-
ing life ; a Son, who, to increase the glory of His Father,
zealously bore the most cruel torments ; an innocent Son,
who has saved so many sinners, and who, by His death,
has opened the way to heaven to all mankind ?
It was then, that this God of Majesty acknowledged
Him for His Son, that He announced to all the celestial
choir that He was their King, that all should bend to His
authority and be submissive to His power, that He should
be the Master of the heaven He had opened, of the hell that
He had overcome, and of the earth that He had sanctified.
We can easily believe that all the happy spirits cried
out, " The Lamb that was slain, is worthy to receive power,
and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and
glory, and benediction " (Apoc. v.)
The Lamb who has suffered death, is worthy to receive
divine honours, to rule with strength, with wisdom, with
H
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absolute authority ; it is right that we should treat Him
with homage and respect, that He should be raised to the
highest pinnacle of glory, and that all heaven should ring
and re-echo His praises for ever and for ever.
It was at the sound of this welcome, that the Son of
Man was introduced into heaven, where no man had
before been seen, and where that numerous band of saints
He had delivered from Limbo followed Him, and were
received with all the honours that were due to the merits
of their Redeemer and to their own merits too.
Le Pere de la Colombiere.
Sermon on the Ascension.
[Louis le Valois was born at Melun in 1639. **e was appointed
confessor and director of the grandsons of Louis XIV., and was
always esteemed, as a true servant of God. He died in Paris, 170a
His Spiritual Works were published in Paris, 1785, in three volumes.
His ascetical treatises are full of instruction and devotion.]
It is not solely for Yourself, Lord, that You re-enter
into Your kingdom ; it is for us You ascend, as our Chief,
and You go, according to the promise You have made, to
prepare for Your elect the mansions which are destined
for them ; You ascend as our Mediator, and for us, You
present to Your Father the fruits of that superabundant
redemption which has reconciled heaven and earth ; You
ascend as our Guide, and in showing us the boundary to
which we ought to reach, You trace the road on which we
ought to walk.
Adorable Master of that militant Church which You
have established on earth, by the labours of Your mortal
life, give us a share in the glory of that Church triumphant
which You begin to collect in heaven, and of which You
will be the everlasting happiness. We are Your members,
and wheresoever the general is to be found, there also
should be his soldiers.
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ON THE ASCENSION.
"5
Without You, without the hope and happiness of pos-
sessing and seeing You, what peace could we enjoy in
this valley of tears wherein we dwell ? And what can the
world offer in comparison with that heavenly beatitude,
which reigns in You and with You ?
Ah ! dear Lord, when will the day come, when I shall
bid farewell to this place of banishment ? When will You
appear to me in all Your glory ? I languish in expecta-
tion ; the world to me is now as nothing, and my heart is
already with You in heaven.
Le Pere le Valois.
Entretien sur ? Ascension.
The Ascension is the glorious terminus of the voyage of
the Son of God.
My brethren, let us follow the Lamb wheresoever He
goes ; let us follow Him suffering with patience ; let us
follow Him rising; let us follow Him still more eagerly
when He ascends to heaven ; and let us raise up our
hearts to God the Father, in whom His glory reigns.
St. Bernard.
On the Assumption.
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St. Chrysostom and L'Abbe Flechier.
" But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,
he will teach you all things. M— John xiv. 26.
The apostles left the supper-room in Jerusalem filled
with the Holy Ghost. They had within them, a treasury
of knowledge — stores of graces and spiritual gifts, which
they could distribute throughout the land ; and they went
to preach to all nations, having become a living faith, and,
like so many books, animated by the grace of the Holy
Ghost.
This is why they announce, with such a marvellous
certainty, mysteries of which the old philosophers had no
conception, and they publish them not to fifteen or twenty
persons, but to cities and to the entire populace, to Greeks,
to barbarians, in inhabited towns and in the middle of the
deserts.
But more than this, they announce and preach to men
a doctrine far above human intelligence. They speak of
nothing terrestrial, but only of the things of Heaven.
They preach a state and kingdom of which they never
heard before. They disclose other riches and another
poverty, another liberty and another slavery, another life
and another death, a new world and quite a new mode of
life — in fact, a complete change and renewal of everything.
St. Chrysostom.
On St. Matthao's Gospel.
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Scarcely had the Saviour opened heaven to take His
place at the right hand of His Father than He re-opens it,
to give a share to His disciples — if not of His majesty and
glory, at least a share of the abundance of His graces.
Being unable to descend to them, and unwilling that
they should ascend to Him, He sends them another Self
to console and instruct them, to protect and sanctify them.
Thus the Church finds itself, happily situated between
Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, drawn by the one, con-
ducted by the other. They divide between them, says St.
Bernard, the office and employment of their love for our
salvation. Jesus dwells in the abode of His glory, and
acts as our Intercessor and everlasting Mediator near His
Father; the Holy Ghost dwells in our midst, to be our
consoler and ruler. One prepares in heaven, the crowns
He has destined for the elect ; the other encourages them
and gives them strength to fight bravely.
The one has entered into the depth of the sanctuary, to
consummate the functions of His priesthood ; the other,
fashions here below spiritual and holy victims. The one,
high in heaven, carries man to the bosom of God, to give
him a certain pledge of his glory and of his blessed immor-
tality ; the other, sent from heaven, brings God down to
the bosom of man, in order to cleanse him and fill him
with light and grace : this is the mystery which the Church
celebrates on this, our Whitsuntide.
• ••••••
The Holy Ghost is sent to bear testimony to the
person, divinity, and doctrine of Jesus Christ ; He bears
testimony of His birth, for by virtue of His power He
formed His adorable body in the womb of a Virgin.
He bears testimony of His death, by manifesting its
efficacy; of His glory, He is the pledge; of His charity,
He is the dispenser; of His truth, He is the witness
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par excellence. * It is the Spirit," says St John, "which
testifieth that Christ is the truth," and that everything,
excepting Jesus, is falsehood, adds St. Augustine.
What is this world which the Gospels so often con-
demns, but a union of vanity and falsehood ? Its plea-
sures are illusions, its promises are trifling amusements;
its caresses, treasons ; its joys, mere follies ; its sadness,
despair; its maxims, nought but errors; its laws, unruly;
its good works, hypocrisy.
Such is the spirit of the world ; but the Spirit of
Jesus Christ is truth itself. Its promises are faithful, its
hopes are certain, its laws are just, its works are holy,
• its joys are solid; and all that He is, all that He says,
all that He does, all that He ordains, forms a body im-
mutable, holy, and everlastingly true, and of this the Holy
Spirit testifieth as well as that of His doctrine.
Flechier.
Sermon on Feast.
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Pere Houdry and
PARE DE LA COLOMBIERE.
And there are three who give testimony in heaven— the Father, the Word, and
the Holy Ghost ; and these three are one."— i John v. 7.
All the passages in the Old Testament where the
divinity of the Son of God and of the Holy Ghost is
established equally, teach the truth of the mystery of the
most Holy Trinity.
In Isaiah, the Son of God does He not bear, even
after His Incarnation, the name of God strong and
powerful, the Father of Eternity ? In the Psalms the
Lord has said, "This day have I begotten thee" (Ps. ii.)
"The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand"
(Ps. ex.), words of which the Saviour himself made use
of, in order to confound the Jews, and from which He
has extracted from them a proof of His divinity. With
regard to the Holy Ghost, is not His divinity also
declared in several passages of the Old Testament,
where He is called the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of
God, and which make Him appear at one time as the
author of the fertility of all nature : " And the Spirit of
God moved over the waters" (Gen. i.); at another time
as the author of all the grandeurs and beauty which is
seen in the heavens ?
God, says the holy man Job (Job xxvi.), has orna-
mented the heavens by His Spirit ; and at another time
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as the author of the sanctification of men, and the source
of grace, and their salvation.
But with all that, it must be confessed that the re-
velation made of the mystery of the Holy Trinity in
the Old Testament, is obscure in comparison with what
has been revealed to us in the New, where the Three
Divine Persons have been so distinctly traced out, and
so clearly proposed to our faith, as being not only the
chief end, but the principal object of our adoration.
First of all, what is more clear than the manifestation
which was made at the baptism of the Saviour, where
the heavens open to make us notice and distinguish at
the same time these Three Divine Persons: the Father
in this voice : " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased " {Matt xvii.) ; the Son in that Man-God
marked and pointed out in that voice; the Holy Ghost
under the form of a dove visibly descends on the
Saviour ?
Secondly. Are not the heavens opened for us in giving
testimonies, and to make us acknowledge, with St John,
that there are Three who give testimony in heaven, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and that these Three
are One (i Johnvu)} The Father, has He not opened
the heavens, and has He riot made His voice heard both
on Mount Thabor and on the River Jordan : Paterna vox
audita est ? The Son, has He not opened the heavens,
to show Himself at the stoning of St. Stephen ? and this
proto-martyr, has he not had the joy and happiness of
seeing Him sitting on the right hand of His Father, and
this, too, when he was in bodily suffering? The Holy
Ghost, has He not also opened the heavens to manifest
Himself to men, when He descended brilliantly and visibly
in the form of parted tongues as it were of fire, and sat
upon every one of the apostles ; and then to the Gentiles
even, and that for several times, and "the apostles began
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121
to speak with divers tongues," and accompanying this with
the gift of working many miracles ?
Besides these, to be convinced that these witnesses from
heaven are only One, we need only read in the New
Testament, the striking proofs of the divinity of the Son
and the Holy Ghost, so often, so clearly expounded ; in
addition to this, those three words of Jesus in the Gospel
include the whole of this doctrine: Ego et Pater unum
sutnus (John x.)
LE PERE HOUDRY, S.J.
Does the darkness of this mystery weaken our faith?
Can we question or doubt of what God teaches us, because
we cannot understand it ? This is not the opinion of the
holy fathers, nor of the doctors, who sustain that there can
be no faith without obscurity.
What would be the merit and virtue of faith, says St
Leo, if it merely consisted of believing self-evident truths ?
Would it be making a great sacrifice to God if, by fol-
lowing His judgment, it would agree with our own; or if
we recognise truths which it would be folly to deny?
Would it not be treating our Lord in the most insolent
and unworthy manner, even in a worldly point of view,
were we to ask Him for a reason for all He said, and
rather than wishing to believe His word, we should defy
Him, or rather require Him to.give palpable proofs of all
that He has deigned to reveal ?
What rashness and boldness, to determine to submit to
the judgment of reason only, thus wishing to place that
weak ray of intelligence, which God has given us, in oppo-
sition to that infinite abyss of splendour, which enlightens
everything, and which cannot be fathomed.
O eternal and immutable Truth, You have revealed
to Your Church the adorable mystery of the Trinity, and
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have commanded all the faithful to believe what You
have revealed ; and a petty mind, whose views are so
narrow and confined, ignorant of the commonest things,
easily disturbed, daily deceived in the discussion of trifling
affairs, ever in want of being led, redressed, and corrected
daily — this poor weak mind, I say, will dare to examine
into the decrees of his Creator, and will deliberate if he
ought to add faith to his opinions, because he cannot
comprehend it !
0 my God ! I confess that I can understand nothing of
this great mystery, that it far surpasses my intelligence;
but nevertheless I firmly believe, all that You have said,
although my senses are opposed to my belief, although my
weak reason seems to fight against it, although I have no
other proof than Your word.
1 feel so certain of the truth of this divine- mystery that
I do not hesitate to found on this belief every hope of my
eternal happiness.
This mystery is incomprehensible, and must be adored
with an unreasoning belief.
Le Pere de la Colombiere, S.J.
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DEVOTION TO OUR BLESSED LADY.
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35.— flDn £>etiQtion to Our TSUmn £aH^
Henri-Marie Boudon, Archdeacon of Evreux,
and St. Bernard.
" From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."
— Luke I 48.
Extracts from the saintly Henri-Marie BOUDON, Arch-
deacon of Evreux. See his work on the " Devotion to
Our Immaculate Mother!'
THERE is no nation, no state or condition, which has not
called Mary " Blessed." Pagans, Greeks, barbarians — the
noble, the rich, and the poor — have honoured her, have
invoked her aid. Angels, men, heaven, and earth have
striven to show her their respect and homage.
Certainly a devotion must be good, when it is so uni-
versal a practice among the faithful; and if St. Augustine
makes use of the uniformity and extent of the belief of
all Catholic nations as a proof that they must belong to
the true Church, it is also an evident proof of the solidity
and holiness of devotion to our Blessed Lady to see the
universal piety of the faithful.
There are millions who daily implore her motherly
protection ; an innumerable number of zealous voices call
upon us to share in their devotion ; the Holy Spirit of God,
encourages men of every condition of life in every nation.
We may safely say that heaven resounds with her glory,
and the universe re-echoes its praises. All nations who
adore God, pay honours to the wonders done to her:
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Europe, Asia, Africa, America, have all been struck with
astonishment at the "great things that He that is mighty
hath done to her."
It must not be supposed that the devotion to the Blessed
Virgin is merely a devotion practised by simple or igno-
rant people; crowned heads have considered it a great
honour to be devoted to her, and to acknowledge her as
their Lady and their Queen.
The canticle, which says in a general way " All genera-
tions shall call me blessed," does not seek any blind sub-
mission to our faith ; to believe it, does not call for any
stretch of imagination; it needs only to be seen. Even
at first sight, it is apparent that what the Blessed Virgin
foretold, has long been accomplished. So many monu-
ments raised to her honour, so many churches consecrated
in her name, so many hands busy in writing her praises,
so many preachers glad to eulogise her virtues — all these
form, so many authentic testimonies to the truth of her
prophecy.
Here you see the happiness of the ever Blessed Virgin
universally acknowledged.
Oh ! what a consolation it is for me, when I think of the
many honours you, my dearest Mother, have received in
every part of the world, where the Gospel has been preached
or where your Son is adored! What a joy it is, when I
read of the many sanctuaries that have been consecrated
to your honour and glory! of the many feasts that the
Church has set apart for you ! of the many holy confra-
ternities, military orders, and religious communities that
honour you with an especial worship and are consecrated
to your service !
Since we have spoken of monarchs who have done much
to spread the devotion to the Blessed Virgin, do not let
us forget that glorious St. Louis the Just, who solemnly
consecrated himself, his kingdom, and his subjects to this
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Queen of Heaven; and who, to give a striking proof of
his love for her, placed his crown and sceptre on the altar
of Notre-Dame in Paris, and left especial directions that
an annual commemoration of this event should be made
in all the churches of France on the feast of her glorious
Assumption. This his successor, Louis the Great, ratified
and confirmed by an additional decree, in which he be-
seeches every prelate of his kingdom to exhort his people
to cherish a fervent love for, and to practise an especial
devotion to, the holy Mother of God.
The whole Christian world has, throughout all ages,
shown its devotion to the Blessed Virgin ; and this devotion
has been authorised by a great number of miracles, which
are so many illustrious and striking testimonies which
God permits, approves, and draws from it His own glory.
Not only the holy fathers and doctors, but the whole
Church, have exerted themselves, to pay her due honour
and proclaim aloud her praises, and this the Church has
always done; whilst, on the other hand, the baneful spirit
of heresy has ever tried to cloud the glory of Mary. So
many grand and glorious treatises have been written on
this subject, that it would be difficult to enumerate the
books that have been published respecting this devotion.
The holy Fathers, and St. Bernard in particular, reply
to those who complain of these multitudes of books, that
were all men forced to speak or write of this devotion
they never could say enough.
From this we must come to the conclusion that devotion
to the Blessed Virgin is really the devotion of the Church ;
and this is nevertheless certified by the particular care it
takes to honour her, and by the praises it bestows upon
her. In fact, its attention is quite pointed in this respect :
it not only does honour to her mysteries, and celebrates
her feasts with great solemnity, but, as if all these solem-
nities were not sufficient to satisfy its devotion, it sets
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apart one day in the week, to be consecrated to her
memory.
But above all, the miracles which God has worked and
still works daily, in favour of this devotion, evidently proves
that Mary should be honoured in every age and by all the
faithful, God being unable to work miracles to authorise
error or impiety.
Besides ; when I speak of miracles, I speak of incon-
testable miracles, supported by an authority which it would
be rash to challenge, such as those which are approved by
ecclesiastical powers after a careful and strict examination,
or those which we gather from the testimony of authors
celebrated for their wonderful learning and rare sanctity.
Some have been related even in councils, as in the
Second Council of Nicaea. This sufficiently denotes, that
it is very useful to speak of them, to write about them, to
preach about them, when they are legitimately approved
of; and this the Church has done in general councils.
If you follow Mary, you will not swerve from the right
path ; if you pray to her, you will not fall into despair ; if
she holds you, you will not fall ; if she protects you, you
need not fear ; if she leads you, you will never weary ; and
if she befriends you, you will be safe.
Henri-Marie Boudon.
On the Devotion to the Mother of Cod
St. Bernard.
De Aqua Duclu.
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
127
36.— jflDn tfce immaculate Conception.
Peres Houdry and De la Colombiere, S.J.,
and St. Bernard.
" The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made anything
from the beginning." — Proverbs via. 2.
In this mystery it seems to me to be fitting and proper to
apply those words of the prophet, "The unspotted mirror
of God's majesty" (Wisdom vii. 26), to our Lady's Imma-
culate Conception.
These words have been applied to the Uncreated Wis-
dom, that is to say, to the Word Incarnate, who is the
substantial image of His Father and the mirror of His
divine perfections, because He is begotten in a splendour
more pure and brilliant than the light They, however,
can be applied in a just proportion to the glorious Virgin,
since Mary was conceived without sin, exempt from its
original stain, destined to be the Mother of a Son, who is
as far removed from sin, as light is from darkness ; conse-
quently, Mary can be rightly called an unspotted mirror.
Her conception also corresponds with the eternal and
temporal conception of that God-Man, who is to be her
Son, and also represents perfectly the sanctity, purity,
majesty, and the noblest attributes of God himself.
To show that the conception of Mary, is this unspotted
• mirror which the wise man has pictured in the eternal
conception of the Divine Word, the following reasoning
would suffice : — God was not willing, nor would He allow
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that the body of the Blessed Virgin should be more pure
or more exempt from every stain than her soul. Now the
purity of her body has been the most perfect that can be
imagined ; it equalled, nay surpassed, those of the angels,
and, if we may believe some of the early Fathers, it reached
even to the infinite. Then, far from having contracted the
least stain of sin, she was truly an unspotted mirror.
That God should have willed that Mary's body should
not be endowed with a more excellent purity, than that of
her soul, is not what could reasonably be expected of
His wisdom, since the soul is the noblest part of man.
If the body, according to the expression of the Apostle,
is a beautiful vase, the soul is the most precious of liquors
which ought to fill it ; and consequently the virginal body
of Mary, whose purity surpassed that of angels and near
unto God, as St. Bernard says, had to contain a soul still
more pure, inasmuch as the purity of the body, without
the purity of the soul, can have no value or consideration
with God.
Oh ! great God, could it have been indeed possible that
You, who had taken so much pains to endow a purity of
body to her, whom You had chosen to be Your Mother,
and at the same time allowed her soul to be soiled with a
stain as infamous as that of original sin ; that the one
should be purer than the light of the stars, and the other
more vile than the slime of which the first man was
formed; that the purity of the one, should have been
capable of bringing You from heaven to earth, and that
the defilement of the other, would have discouraged
You from coming down; and, in conclusion, that the
woman whom You had chosen for Your Mother, should
have been, even for a moment, a slave of the devil ?
No, I cannot believe it. You have too great a horror of
sin, even to tolerate the shadow ; You love innocence and
holiness too much to consent to be born of a sinner, and
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to give an apparent opportunity of accusing You on a
subject of which You are so sensitive.
Le Pere Houdry, SJ.
• t • • • • •
There is something in Mary, which moves and affects
me much more than this privilege of having been exempt
from original sin — something which adds additional lustre
to this first prerogative. Mary received this grace from
the very first moment of her conception ; it was a wondrous
gift; but what appears to me to be still more wonderful,
is, that she kept this grace, until the last moment of her
life, as pure, as entire, as when she first received it — no
sin, no imperfection, no weakness, no surprise, have ever
done her harm.
It is a wonder to see water springing from the bosom
of the earth as clear, as fresh, as if it fell from heaven ;
but it is a thing unheard of, that this same water from the
well, after having bedewed the fields and dirty places,
should flow at last into the sea, without a taint of smell,
as unpolluted, as when it issued from the spring.
This is, however, what our Blessed Lady has done. She
lived in this valley of tears for more than sixty years —
this, too, in the midst of the same sins and occasions of
sins, which corrupt daily even innocent souls — without
ever losing the purity of her heart. Her humility and
patience were put to proofs without a parallel, and she
gained fresh lustre from every trial. The Holy Ghost
gave her the preference among the many virgins without
losing her honour ; she had her joys, but she had her
dolours too, and through these, she never lost for a single
moment, the peace and tranquillity of her soul.
Let us contrast ourselves with this holy and immaculate
Mother. She received grace with life, and, what is more
glorious still, she kept it intact until she died.
I
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And we, alas! have been conceived and brought into
the world in sin ; and we have received the grace of the
Sacrament of Baptism, which made us friends of God.
But, what is more lamentable, we lose the benefit of
this grace, almost as soon as we have received it, and then
pass the remainder of our days, in the dread uncertainty
of forgiveness. For it must be confessed, to our shame,
that we for the most part remain in a state of grace so
long as we are unacquainted with sin.
It seems to me that there may be a contradiction
between innocence and reason, and that they may clash
together, unless they are kept asunder.
Le Pere de la Colombiere, S.J.
• ••••••
All men are conceived in sin, and we do not read of any
one who was sanctified in his mother's womb, excepting
Jeremias and St John the Baptist ; although there is no
doubt that the Blessed Virgin, enclosed in her mothers
womb, should have been purified by a much more sublime
degree of sanctification, seeing that she was to be the
sanctuary where God the Son was to be made Flesh.
St. Bernard.
On Nativity of St, John the Baptist.
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THE NATIVITY OF MARY. 131
37 .— £>n tfce JBatftritg of a^arg.
PfeRE VERJUS.
And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shaU
rise up out of his root" — Isaias ad. x.
[Antoine Verjus descended from a rich and noble family ; he was
brother of the Count of Crecy, and was born in Paris in 1652. Despis-
ing all the world's honours and dignities, he joined the Society of
Jesus, and this zealous missionary died in 1706. He wrote a life of
St Francis Borgia, which, although considered a little diffuse, is
nevertheless esteemed. He translated the Catechism of the Blessed
Canisius, S.J., and also wrote a life of Nobletz, a Breton missionary.
Pere Verjus had another brother, who was Bishop of Grasse.]
It seems to be just and reasonable, that the Church should
celebrate a great feast on the Nativity of the Blessed
Virgin; for one may say, with St. Augustine, that this
day is the natal day of the Redemption of mankind. The
Church looks upon this Virgin as the powerful and bene-
ficial morning star, which arises for the benefit of the
world — like a beautiful orb which begins to shine in the
midst of the dreadful turmoil of the universe, which
begins to calm the storm, dissipate the darkness, and pro-
mises to guide us safely into port.
She looks upon her as the blessed Aurora which is to be
soon followed by the Sun of justice, to enlighten every
nation by the glory of her graces.
In reality, the birth of Mary is a glorious pledge of
the reconciliation of the Creator with the creature ; it is
a sure sign of God's mercy for us ; it is assuredly a pre-
cious omen of our salvation.
The new-born Virgin is, so to speak, a mysterious rain-
bow formed by the clouds of nature and the light of grace
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which God brings forth to assure us that henceforth it is
His will to change the deluge of His wrath into the gentle
rain of grace and benediction.
It is, then, most proper that the Church should rejoice
greatly on this her natal day, and she wishes that we
should render unto Mary due honours and gratitude.
• ••••••
It was the birth of the Holy Virgin that the chosen
people had expected for ages, that the prophets had fore-
told with joy, for which the saints of the Old Testament
had sighed with so much fervency.
We have almost a right to believe that the angels— in
token of the joy of heaven— brought down the news to
Joachim and St Anna, since the parents of Isaac, Samson,
and St. John the Baptist had received a similar favour.
It need not be doubted, but that the. news may have
been accompanied by numerous marvels throughout the
land, that in a short time there would be a mighty and
glorious change. What a motive for joy for the world
when it sees that come forth, which was to give it its
Saviour, Redeemer, and its King! What a subject for
wrath for the devils when they see that beautiful star of
Jacob arise, of which one of their prophets had even
threatened them. " A star shall rise out of Jacob/' says
Balaam in the book of Numbers, xxiv. 17.
They took her for a fatal comet which foretold the ruin
of their empire and the end of their tyranny.
. . • • * • •
It is true that Mary is still a weak child, to whom nature
has but given sobs and tears, in order to bewail the mise-
ries of a life into which she enters, and in this respect she
is inferior to the angels who enjoy eternal happiness.
But she is destined to bear in her bosom, He whom the
heavens and earth cannot contain ; she is chosen to give
birth to that God, on whom the Seraphim cannot gaze
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THE NATIVITY OF MARY,
133
without trembling. It is this that places her infinitely
higher than all the choirs of angels, and it can be said of
her as was said of her Son : " Being made so much better
than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent
name than they " (Hebrews i. 4).
Yes, this sacred quality of Mother of God to which she
is destined raises her, above all that is glorious in the
nature of all the celestial choir.
Also it is from this beauteous title of Mother of God
that she derives all the advantages and inherits the gran-
deur of being above all other creatures, and it is with this ■
view, that God causes her to be born this day.
Of every outward blessing which the world calls fortune,
the Blessed Virgin was almost entirely destitute. She was
not born in a fine palace, neither was she clothed in
purple ; she did not make her entry into the world under
a canopy ; around her bed you did not see a crowd of
officers and servants.
She was born lowly and obscure. She begins the lessons
which her divine Son would finish in the crib at Beth-
lehem. She teaches us to despise the vanities of the world,
since man in his cradle is more miserable and prouder than
all animals. She plainly tells us that outward pomp and
fine clothing, serves only to feed our pride without decreas-
ing our misery.
Oh ! how well does poverty sit on the Mother of that
God-man, who by His humility will overthrow the pride
of the devil ; who by His nakedness, weakness, and poverty
will shame the vanity of the world, with its luxuries and
superfluities !
The riches of our Lady are all in her soul. '* All the
glory of the King's daughter is within 99 [Psalm xliv. 14).
It is within her that God shows His generosity; it is therein,
He has displayed all the treasures of His grace.
Verjus.
Panigyriques.
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8.— £)n tfte $olg JSame of 9£)arp.
PfeRE D'ARGENTAN.
• "And the virgin's name was Mary."
—Luke L 27.
WHO is it who, having loved and honoured the holy name
of Mary, has not experienced what St Ephrem has written
on it with so much fervour?
That it is really the heavenly star which shines through
the surrounding darkness ; how often has it not made us
think more of God and our duties ; that it is truly the
harbour of refuge, wherein those who are threatened with
danger can take shelter therein. How often, when violently
tempted by the evil one, have we not been strengthened
by invoking the name of Mary ; for is not Mary the Federis
Area and our Mediatrix?
Many and many a time has not Mary, through her
powerful intercession, made our peace with God, whom
we have so often offended by our repeated falls, that she
is the help of the afflicted and the consolation of the
wretched ?
We could fill volumes, were we to quote instances of
all those who, finding themselves wellnigh wrecked with
sadness and grief, have found a safe port by invoking the
name of Mary. Would you see people constantly crowd-
ing to places which are consecrated to God under this holy
name, if they did not find that those who invoke it, are
relieved from all human miseries ?
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THE HOLY NAME OF MARY.
*35
And why should not this holy name be so salutary,
since it is so nearly allied to the Saviour? Whosoever
speaks of Mary speaks of the Mother of the Redeemer,
speaks of a priceless treasure, which encloses within itself
the infinite wealth of the Father of mercies, and the remedy
for every ill.
God wishes that these graces should come through Mary,
and He has made her Mediatrix Nostra^ our Mediatrix.
Would you, then, know what a host of graces are enclosed
in the name of Mary, look what a treasure of heavenly
riches, God has enclosed in her chaste womb.
Who amongst us, if he could see the sacred persons of
Jesus and His holy Mother, would not immediately throw
himself at their feet, and after embracing them would
not pour out his heart to them ?
It is true that we can have no longer their bodily pre-
sence, now that death has deprived us of both one and the
other ; but have we not a consolation near at hand ? Can
we not, in the place of their visible presence, invoke their
names, impress them on our memory, engrave them in our
hearts, pronounce them often with respect and love ?
Indeed, we .know that the old philosophers believed that
names were but the representation of things, that they
recalled to mind the idea and form, and that men had
invented their use in order that we might, in a certain
way, place persons before our eyes, discuss with them on
matters we know, or have known, notwithstanding the
length of distance or the question of time.
By this innocent artifice, means have been found of
producing everything by means of words and phrases, in
imitation of the first being, which brought forth His own
image, that is to say, His Word.
We also give to things a new being; we recall person?
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who are near or who are far off. The tongue and speech
form a picture to the ears of things which we cannot see ;
we draw them from the tomb; we recall them from ages
long passed away ; we summon them to life when we wilL
In a word, by the means of names, we have found out
the way of immortalising everything; we give them a
species of being, over which memory or death have no
empire.
Who will, then, prevent you from making use of this holy
artifice with regard to two persons whose names ought to
be dearer to us than anything else in this world, I mean
those of Jesus and Mary ?
Should we hot have their blessed names ever on our
lips? Such would be the case if we had them deeply
engraven on our hearts.
Fill us, Holy Mary, with the love of your holy name;
fill us with the fire of divine love. At the sound of your
name, my conscience will awaken, my love will be set on
fire.
Mary! O name so many times attacked, but always
victorious, ever glorious ! Mary ! O name always beneficial
to my soul, which tranquillises my fears, which helps me
in my trouble! Every day will I pronounce it, and to it, I
will add the sacred name of Jesus. The Son will remind
me of the Mother, and the Mother will remind me of the
Son.
Those sacred names of Jesus and Mary, I will engrave
upon my heart, and when I breathe my last sigh those
names will be ever on my lips, and will be names of bless-
ing and salvation.
Le Pere d'Argentan (Capuchin).
Grandeurs dc la Vicrge*
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THE PRESENTATION OF MARY IN THE TEMPLE. 137
39.— flDn tfte presentation of Q&arg
tn tfce Cemple*
PfeRE HOUDRY, S.J.
"Behold, I come to do Thy will, O God."
— Hebrews x, 9.
If angels and men could have mingled all that was virtuous
and holy — if they could have gathered together every grace,
merit, and perfection, they could not have given to God a
more acceptable offering, than was made on the Presenta-
tion of the Blessed Virgin to the Temple.
Yes ! it must be confessed, O Lord, before your divine
Son had come into the world and was made a victim for
our sins on the Cross, Mary alone was deemed worthy of
being an acceptable sacrifice.
The blood of oxen and sheep, the pouring out of liquors,
and the perfume of spices, were things too material to
please You ; the sacrifices of Abel, Noah, and other patri-
archs ; the magnificence of David, and the holy profusion
of Solomon, well deserved Your favourable notice ; but all
these, were incapable of fully satisfying You.
It is true that Abraham and Isaac gained Your affection,
the one, willing to sacrifice his only son, the other submis-
sively agreeing to be immolated for Your glory. I know
that You graciously accepted the offering which Manuel
made to You of Samson, and also that of Anne when she
presented her little Samuel to You.
But however excellent these victims may have been, they
nevertheless have slight blemishes, and failed in possessing
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that perfect purity, without which they could not be worthy
of You.
There was only Mary, in whom You found no stain of
sin, or, rather, there was no one but Mary, who could have
been a victim, sufficiently holy and pure, to supply for the
defects of others, and to fill in what was wanting in them
to appease You, namely, the anticipation of the glorious
sacrifice of the cross.
Receive, then, this innocent dove which is to be soon
followed by the spotless Lamb. Receive the lamentations
of the one, and then You will receive the blood of the
other. Receive the vows of the holiest of creatures;
receive the offering of a virgin who is to be the Mother
of a God, and then You will receive the sacrifice of God
made Man.
We ought certainly believe that Mary does not enter
into the Temple by compulsion, neither should we imagine
that she entered therein, in obedience to the will of her
parents. Charity presses her on more strongly than the
obligation she was under to fulfil her vows, and had they
not presented her, she would have been drawn thither
solely by her immense love.
She had long sighed for this happiness, and in the tran-
sports of her fervour she said repeatedly to herself: When
shall I be enclosed in that sacred Temple, where God has
fixed His dwelling, and where He has fixed mine ? Dear
Lord! do not delay to grant me the possession of that
happiness, the postponement of which causes me such
painful longing. " These things I remembered and poured
out my soul in me; for I shall go over to the place of
the wonderful tabernacle, even to the house of God"
(Psalm xli. 5).
At length the happy day having arrived, do not ask me
if she was transported with joy. Far from waiting for the
commands of her parents to prepare herself for the fulfil-
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THE PRESENTATION OF MARY IN THE TEMPLE. 139
ment of their vows, she was the first to warn them and to
urge them onwards.
It was wonderful indeed, to see a child of three years
endowed with so firm a resolve — to see her leave the com-
forts of home without a sigh — to forego the caresses of
her relations — to bid adieu to her dearest companions — to
tear herself away from the arms of a father who loved her
more than his eyes, and of a mother for whom she had the
tenderest affection; — all these, she resigns with tears of joy.
Picture to yourself the feelings of Joachim and Anna
when they approached the High Priest in order to place
their daughter in his arms ; how their souls are troubled
with a divided love — one a love divine, the other a human
love. Joachim, who has for so many years been ignorant
of the sweet name of father, and who now would soon be
deprived of his darling pet ; Anna, she, too, venerable in
age and piety, after a barrenness of years had now become
the happiest of mothers — she too, was on the point of
losing all her joy and comfort. Joachim sighed and
sobbed, and Anna shed tears of grief.
But the generous Virgin is unmoved. She sees the tears
her parents shed, she hears the sighs without a sign of
weakness, their sobs she listens to, without shaking her
courage. She knows full well that these dear ones are well-
nigh heart-broken, but grace is working within her, and a
love much stronger is growing now, for God calls the
Blessed Virgin to His service. She thinks not of a father's
tenderness, she heeds not a mother's love; she knows
and looks to God alone, to whom she wishes to sacrifice
herself.
Lb Pere Vincent Houdry, SJ.
From his MSS. Discourses.
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40.— £Dn t&e annunciation,
Bourdaloue and St. Gregory.
" Hail, Mary, full of grace ; the Lord is with thee."
— Luke i. 28.
Extracts from Bourdalouis Two Sermons on the
Annunciation.
An angel presented himself to Mary, and she was
troubled. Scarcely had he begun to speak to her than
fear seized her, so that she felt within her a host of
perplexing thoughts : " She was troubled at his saying,
and thought within herself, what manner of salutation this
should be " {Luke i. 29).
If Mary had been one of those worldly persons, who
are only virgins in body, but not so in spirit, this visit
she received would not have surprised her much, and the
praises bestowed upon her, instead of astonishing her,
would have agreeably flattered her. But the profession
she had made as a virgin was undertaken solely with the
view of devoting herself entirely to God ; the rules which
had been prescribed had been strictly kept, which were
to renounce the manners and customs of a profane age;
her exact and severe regularity, her attention never to
relax in the least duty, the preservation of an irreproach-
able conduct which was proof against the slightest
censure, the modesty and bashfulness which were with
her supernatural ; the opinion she had formed that
praises bestowed on her sex and favourably received,
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THE ANNUNCIATION.
141
that praises even tolerated and quietly listened to, were
to her a secret and contagious poison ; — all these caused
her a trouble which she was not ashamed of showing;
because being troubled in that way, she manifested the
true character of a virgin faithful to God.
On Mary's answer depended the accomplishment of
this glorious mystery. This consent was, in the order of
the eternal decrees of God, one of the conditions required
for the Incarnation of the Word ; and this is the essential
obligation we are under to this Queen of virgins, since
it is of faith that it is through her, that Jesus Christ
has been given to us, and it is to her, we are indebted
for this Divine Saviour. For if the Son, even of God,
descends from His glory in heaven ; if He enters into the
chaste tabernacle of Mary to be made flesh, it is at the
moment she has said, and because she has said it,
"Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me
according to thy word " {Luke I 28).
It is not in consequence of this answer and consent
of Mary that the Son of God came down from heaven
and became Incarnate. Mary conceived the Word first
through the humility of her heart, and secondly through
the purity of her body.
It is humility, says St. Augustine, which on the part
of man should be the first and most necessary acquire-
ment when conferring with God. If then God chose
Mary to be His mother, it was that she alone appeared
to Him, to possess that perfect humility which He re-
quired. In fact, as St. Bernard remarks, a God who was
on the point of humiliating Himself even to the excess of
clothing Himself with our flesh, ought to have an infinite
liking for humility.
But what is there so peculiar in Mary's humility ?
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Why, first of all, it was a humility joined to a fulness of
grace ; she was saluted as Gratia plena, full of grace;
and she replies that she is the handmaid of the Lord.
Secondly, it was also a humility highly honourable ; an
angel comes to tell her that she will be Mother of God,
and she gives herself the title only of handmaid of the
Lord.
This is what delighted Heaven; this it is that deter-
mined the Word of God to leave the bosom of His Father
and enclose Himself in the womb of Mary.
Whilst she humiliates herself before God, the Son of
God empties Himself in her. "Emptied himself, taking
the form of a servant " (Philip, ii. 7).
From all this, let us learn to be humble. A mother of
God humble, a God emptied! What a lesson for us I
Without humility, there is no Christianity, no religion,
since without humility, we should not have had the In-
carnation or a God made Man.
Secondly, Mary conceived the Word through the
purity of her body and through her virginity. The
prophet had foretold that the Messiah should be born
of a virgin ; and it was, says St. Bernard, essential, that a
God by making Himself man should have had a virgin
for a mother, since any other conception than that, would
not have suited the dignity of God, and would have
dimmed the brightness and glory of His divinity. Also,
according to the beautiful idea of St. Bernard, the whole
of this mystery passes between God, an angel, and Mary,
which traces out for us three different characteristics of
the most perfect purity.
From this, what conclusion can we come to? Why,
that God being of Himself the essence of purity, it was
necessary that a union so wonderful should be in harmony,
and this was accomplished when the Word was made
flesh. God, in this mystery, even gives the preference to
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THE ANNUNCIATION.
H3
virginal purity by choosing a virgin-mother, and by de-
puting an angel to be His ambassador.
Do not be astonished, continues St. Bernard, since the
purity of this Virgin was so meritorious that it raised her
above the level of angels. The angels are naturally pure,
by a privilege of beatitude and glory, but Mary was so
by election and virtue, so much so that she was troubled
at the sight of an angel ; this was the effect of her watch-
fulness to preserve the treasure of her purity. She was
also ready to renounce the dignity of divine maternity
rather than cease to be a virgin, and thus it was that God
felt induced to descend into her in order that the Word
should be made flesh : Verbum caro factum est.
You see from this what care we should ever take to
preserve our bodies from any stain of impurity.
Le Pere Bourdaloue.
• • •••»•
Imagine what it is to be a Son of God, and you can
have some idea what it is to be His mother; the excel-
lence of the one will make you understand the excellence
of the other.
St. Gregory.
On First Book 0/ Kings.
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41.— flDn tfce Flotation,
Peres du Jarry and d'Argentan.
"Whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? "
— LukeL 43.
St. AMBROSE says that in this mystery there are two
visits to be thought of— that of Jesus to St. John, and
that of Mary to St. Elizabeth. St. John was in need of
Jesus, and Elizabeth wanted Mary.
But how could these two children meet, enclosed, as
they both were, in their mother's womb ? How could
two pregnant women, separated as they were from each
other by road almost inaccessible — how could they see
each other, during a season so rigorous ?
You know it well, my brethren. Jesus secretly instils
into the heart of Mary, a wish to visit her cousin Elizabeth
— the greatness of her new dignity, a long fatiguing journey
delays her not — the precious burthen she begins to carry
relieving, as says St. Augustine, instead of incommoding
her. Supported by this secret movement of grace which
helps her on, she surmounts every obstacle, and at length
arrives at the house of Zachary.
The presence of Jesus, causes John to leap for joy in his
mothers womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Ghost at the sight of Mary.
Mary's joy, humility, and gratitude shone forth in a
manner quite divine, in that wonderful canticle she gave
in answer to the blessings of Elizabeth. What mysteries,
what instructions, are included in this our gospel history!
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THE VISITATION.
H5
St. Ambrose was in ecstasy when he meditated on this
celebrated visit, signalised as it was, by so many mysteries,
prophecies, and wonders. This holy bishop, seems to dis-
play all his charming eloquence, in describing what took
place at the interview of those illustrious mothers, one of
which gave birth to the greatest among the children of
men, and the other to a God made man for the salvation
of all. Elizabeth, says this Father, is the first to hear the
voice of Mary, but John, even before that, is sensible of
the grace of Jesus — the one rejoices at the Blessed Virgin's
visit, the other leaps for joy at the visit of his Saviour.
The two mothers proclaim aloud the marvels of divine
grace, and the two children feel or produce the workings
of the said grace. Jesus Christ fills St. John with the
grace attached to the ministry of the Precursor, and St.
John anticipates its functions in a wondrous manner;
Elizabeth and Mary, interiorly animated by the spirit of
their children, extract from their interview a series of
oracles and prophecies.
L'AbbS DU JARRY.
On the Visitation.
• • • • . .
Ponder on the words which St. Elizabeth utters, and
judge from them, how the Holy Spirit must have moved
her. She seems, as it were, to shout with rapture, Unde
hoc mihi, ut veniat mater Domini mei ad me? {Luke i. 43)
— Whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord
should come to me ? I am only the mother of the servant,
and behold the mother of the Almighty Monarch comes
to visit me ! Oh, charity unequalled ! profound humility
of the mother and her Son to visit me, their unworthy
servant ! Oh ! happy, happy house, which is so filled with
such precious favours from heaven, in which the Saviour
of mankind pays His first visit on earth, and that, too,
through the hands of the Blessed Virgin. Whence is this
K
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to me ! O adorable Providence, which has so graciously
given me this happiness !
I have often remarked that one of her best precautions
was to prepare for the reception of this abundance of grace,
by making a long retreat of five months, thus hiding
herself from the turmoil of the world. The Evangelist
would not have mentioned this without a purpose, for we
read in the first chapter of St. Luke : " And after those
days Elizabeth, his wife conceived, and hid herself five
months."
If that great saint had been distracted with the cares of
the world, if she had not been in her house, when the Son
of God, within the pure body of His holy Mother, came
to honour her with a visit, she would, perhaps, have been
deprived of all His favours; but she received graces in
•abundance, because God found her praying in solitude.
Happy is the soul who loves to be in retreat, thus
flying from the noise and bustle of the world.
It is, while she is in retreat that God visits her, and that
she rejoices in God : " I will allure her and will lead her
into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart " (Osee
ii. 14).
Le Pere D'Argentan.
Confirmee.
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THE PURIFICATION.
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42.— *Dn tfie ipunficattom
Bourdaloue and Father Faber.
" And after the days of her purification^ according to the law of Moses, were
accomplished, they carried him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord." —
Luke ii. 22.
Mary, in obedience to the law of Mosesr sacrifices even
her own honour, since by the Purification, she appears in
the same condition as that of other women. Thus the
brightness of her virginity was obscured; of that virginity,
of which she was so jealous in the mystery of the Incar-
nation ; of that virginity, whose glory is to shine outwardly,
and not show the least stain. She consents to risk her
reputation and her name, and of all the humiliations that
one, I dare to say, was the most difficult to bear — to be
pure as the sun before God, and to appear impure, before
the eyes of men. Such is, nevertheless, the sacrifice this
most holy of virgins makes.
Now this law of God, my brethren, does not compel us
to do anything so humiliating. It wishes that we should
appear as we are ; that being essentially submissive to the
supreme control of God, we should not blush at duties which
His law requires and at services which we are bound to
perform ; especially, being impure sinners, we should not
be ashamed to perform practices of penance which are to
cleanse, to reconcile us with God, and help us to pay off
the debt of His divine justice.
But what do we do ? By a strange reversing, we wish
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to be sinners, and yet appear to be good. Mary gives up
all desire of outside show provided she is assured that the
treasure of her virginity is preserved, and we, often even in
the most trifling things, are but too anxious to keep up
appearances.
Consider the many virtues she practises in this mystery:
she hides her glory, not wishing to appear what she is ; she
emblazons her humility, by appearing what she is not.
She is Mother of God, and she appears only as the
mother of a man ; she comes to be purified in company
with other mothers, although she is the purest of virgins.
Dispensed from this humiliating law, she nevertheless car-
ries it out to the very letter.
However dear that adorable Son may be, she offers Him
up for us, even unto death, by presenting Him to the
Eternal Father, as a propitiatory victim. It costs her
much to hear the saddest and most heartrending predic-
tion made on Him, and with what resignation did she not
consent ? O JLord, bow conformed is the spirit of the
Mother with the spirit of the Son, and how both are dif-
ferent from ours. We wish to appear what we are not;
our pride cannot brook the idea of appearing as we are.
Luxury, pomp, ambition, and vanity, accompany us even
to the foot of the altar.
We are, however, charmed with the deep humility of the
Blessed Virgin. Shall we never be but cold and indif-
ferent admirers of the sublimest virtues ? Does our love
of purity inspire us with a great delicacy of conscience?
What do we do, to acquire and cherish so necessary and
delicate a virtue ? Only those who are clean of heart shall
see God.
BOURDALOUE.
On the Purification.
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H9
Mary had spent twelve years of her sinless life in the
courts of the Temple. It was there, that she had out-
wardly dedicated her virginity to God, which she had
vowed in the first moment of her Immaculate Conception.
It was there, she meditated over the ancient Scriptures,
and learned the secrets of the Messias. She was coming
back to it again, still virgin, yet, mystery of grace ! a mother
with a child. She came to be purified, she who was purer
than the untrodden snow on Lebanon. She came to pre-
sent her child to God, and do for the Creator, what no
creature but herself could do, give Him a gift fully equal
to Himself.
When the second Temple was built, the ancients of the
people lifted up their voices and wept, because its glory
was not equal to the glory of the first. But the first
Temple had never seen such a day, as that which was now
dawning on the Temple of Herod. The glory of the Holy
of Holies was but a symbol of the real glory, which Mary
was now bearing thitherward in her arms. But she had
two offerings with her. She bore one, and Joseph the
other. She bore her child, and he, the pair of turtle-doves,
or two young pigeons, for her purification. Many saw
them pass. But there was nothing singular in them,
nothing especially attractive to the eyes of the beholders.
So it always is, where God is. Now that He is visible, He
is, in truth, except to faith and love, just as invisible, as He
ever was.
. . . • • • . .
Mary made her offerings, and " performed all things
according to the law of the Lord." For the Spirit of Jesus
was a spirit of obedience ; and although the brightness of
angelic innocence was dull beside the whiteness of her
purity, she obeyed the law of God in the ceremony of her
purification, the more readily as it was a concealment of
her graces. But she bore also in her arms, her true turtle^
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dove, to do for Him likewise u according to the custom of
the law."
She placed Him in the arms of the aged priest Simeon,
as she has done since in vision to so many of the saints, and
the full light broke on Simeon's soul. Weak with age, he
threw his arms around his God. He bore the whole weight
of the Creator, and yet stood upright. The sight of that
infant face, was nothing less than the glory of heaven. The
Holy Ghost had kept His promise. Simeon had seen, nay,
was at that moment handling, " the Lord's Christ"
O blessed priest ! worn down with age, wearied with
thy long years of waiting for the " Consolation of Israel"
kept alive in days which were out of harmony with thy
spirit, even as St. John the Evangelist was after thee,
surely He who made thee, He who is so soon to judge
thee, He whom thou art folding so proudly in thine arms,
must have sent the strength of His omnipotence into thy
heart, else thou wouldst never have been able to stand the
flood of strong gladness which, at that moment broke in
upon thy spirit 1
Father Faber (Orat.)
Foot of the Cross.
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THE SEVEN DOLOURS OF B. V. MARY 151
43.— *Dn t&e ©etoen Dolour* of TSleweo
Utrgm sparg.
From an excellent work entitled " Essais de Sermons?
and Father Faber.
" And thy own soul a sword shall pierce."
— Luke U. 35.
If we sincerely wish to be really and truly the children of
Mary, we cannot do better than try to imitate our Mother.
Let us ascend to Calvary, let us constantly remain with
her at the foot of the cross, let us share with her in the
sufferings of Jesus, and let us impress on our hearts the
image of the Crucified One.
If St John had not ascended Mount Calvary, the Saviour
would not have given Mary to us in so marked a manner.
We cannot hope to be fervent children of Mary if we are
not to be found with her on Mount Calvary. It is there
that she has adopted us — it is there only that she will
acknowledge that we are her children.
You deceived yourself, O great Apostle, when you said
on Mount Thabor, that you wished to be always there,
—Bonum est hie esse {Luke ix. 33) — It is good to be here.
You did not know then, that the glory of Thabor is reserved
for a happy eternity, and that Calvary is the sole inherit-
ance of God's children on earth.
It is at the foot of the cross that Mary can say, " Look
and make it according to the pattern, that was shewn
thee in the mount " (Exodus xxv. 40). If you wish to be
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my children, imitate the example that I give you. Be
firm and constant at the foot of the cross ; and know that
if you keep away 'or stand aloof, you can neither be
children of God nor a child of Mary.
If we sfmply were compelled to compassionate our
dying Saviour, we should find many a tender-hearted
Christian who would be easily led to practices of piety.
But it is not merely a question of compassion ; we must
not endeavour to imitate, we must be crucified with Jesus
Christ. If Mary does not see within us the likeness of her
dear crucified Son, she will not acknowledge us as her
children : " For whom he foreknew, he also predestinated
to be made conformable to the image of his Son"
(Romans viii. 29).
If that be true, can we believe that we are children of
Mary ? Alas ! very far from being on Calvary and at the
foot of the cross, we are at the feet of earthly idols to
whom we offer a continual sacrifice ; and, far from being
an image of Jesus crucified, we are more like to the
evil one.
Ah, holy Virgin ! since you have suffered so much to be
our Mother, obtain for us favours from your Son, so that
He may make us worthy to be your children; and, after
having accompanied and imitated you on Calvary, we
may, through your powerful intercession, be found worthy
to reign with you in heaven.
From the " Essais de Sermons"
Carime.
The first thing that strikes us about our Lady's Dolours
is their immensity, not in its literal meaning, but in the
sense in which we commonly use with reference to created
things. It is to her sorrows that the Church applies those
words of Jeremias : " O all ye that pass by the way,
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THE SEVEN DOLOURS OF B. V. MARY.
153
attend and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow.
To what shall I compare thee, and to what shall I liken
thee, O daughter of Jerusalem ? To what shall I equal
thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Sion ?
for' great as the sea is thy broken-heartedness : who shall
heal thee?"
Mary's love is spoken of as that which many waters
could not quench. In like manner, the saints and doctors
of the Church have spoken of the greatness of her sorrows.
St Anselm says, whatever cruelty was exercised upon the
bodies of the martyrs was light, or rather it was as nothing,
compared to the cruelty of Mary's passion. St. Bernardin
of Siena says, that so great was the dolour of the Blessed
Virgin, that if it was subdivided and parcelled out among
all creatures capable of suffering, they would perish
instantly. An angel revealed to St. Bridget, that if our
Lord had not miraculously supported His Mother, it
would not have been possible for her to live through her
martyrdom.
It would be easy to multiply similar passages, both
from the revelations of the saints and the writings of the
doctors of the Church.
Where is Mary to look with her soul's eye, for consola-
tion ? Nay, her soul's eye must look where her body's
eye is fixed already. It is bent on Jesus, and it is that
very sight which is her torture. She sees His Human
Nature, and she is the Mother, the Mother beyond all
other mothers, loving as never mother loved before, as all
mothers together could not love, if they might compact
their myriad loves, into one intensest nameless act.
He is her Son, and such a Son, and in so marvellous a
way her Son. He is her treasure and her all. What a
fund of misery — keen, quick, deadly, unequalled — was
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there in that sight ! And yet there was far more than
that. There was His Divine Nature.
Yes I He is God. She saw that, through the darkness
of the eclipse. But then the blood, the spittings, the earth
stains, the unseemly scars, the livid, many-coloured bruises,
what did all that mean on a Person, only and eternally
divine? It is vain to think of giving a name to such
misery as then flooded her soul. Jesus, the joy of the
martyrs, is the executioner of His Mother. Twice over,
to say the least, if not a third time also, did He crucify
her, once by His Human Nature, once by His Divine, ii
indeed body and soul did not make two crucifixions from
the Human Nature only. No martyrdom was ever like to
this. No given number of martyrdoms, approach to a com-
parison with it.
It is a sum of sorrow which material units, ever so many
added together, ever so often multiplied, do not go to
form. It is a question of kind as well as of degree ; and
hers was a kind of sorrow, which has only certain affinities
to any other kinds of sorrow, and is simply without a
name, except the name which the simple children of the
Church call it by-^-the Dolours of Mary.
Father Faber (Oral)
Foot of the Cross.
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THE ASSUMPTION OF OUP BLESSED LADY. 155
44.— flDn tfje assumption of our
'BleneD JLaog.
Le Pere Nouet.
"Who is she that comcth forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright
as the sun ? "—Canticle vi. 9.
Extracts from PfeRE Nouet's " Vie de J/sus
dans les Saints"
The Holy Ghost had enkindled so ardent aflame in the heart
of the Blessed Virgin, that it was really, a continuous miracle
that she sustained so impetuous a heavenly fire without
dying, and this repeatedly burst forth from her breast.
For if St. Ephrem cried out in his desert cell, and placed
his hands over his heart lest it should burst and split ; if
St Francis of Assisi thought that he would die of joy
when he heard an angel sing a strain of the celestial choir;
if St. Francis Xavier, laying bare his bosom to breathe
more freely, and looking up to heaven, beseeched his
merciful Lord and Master to be sparing of His favours,
and to remind Him that a human heart could not endure
such a flood of consoling light ; what must our Blessed
Lady have felt, she who received more than all the saints
put together ? How was it, that she did not expire at
every moment ? How was it that she was not consumed
with the flames of love divine, more especially as the Son
of God, who is love itself, had willed and chosen to dwell
for nine long months in her virginal womb ? Cannot we
say, with St. Bernard, that her chaste interior was laden
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with love, that she had neither heart nor life, if we be
allowed to say so ; but that love was her heart, and to live
for God and love Him too, was one and the same thing ?
The life of the Seraphim consists in seeing God, in loving
Him always, in enjoying an eternity of bliss ; and, as St
Gregory observes, wherever they go, they never go out of
God — they fly in the bosom of His immensity, they dwell
in His heart, they exercise their divine functions in the
sanctuary of His divinity.
This was then veritably the life of the Blessed Virgin ;
she shared the rank of the blessed in heaven, far, far above
the state of mortals who lived on earth; her heart was
ever near to God, and God was alway in her heart ; her
sleep was one continual dream of love, and she could
say with the spouse in the Canticle: "I sleep and my
heart watcheth " {chap. v. 2).
Doubtless the death of Mary was a greater miracle, for
to what can we attribute the cause? Who can tell the
cause of so wonderful a death? Can we attribute the
cause to sin? Oh, no; she is innocence itself; her con-
ception is immaculate, her birth was stainless, her life
without reproach; and never having been a slave of sin.
she needed not to pay the debt of nature. To sickness?
No; she was never ill, and her body was exempt from
the gradual decay of nature. To agony? No; death
would appear to be too welcome to be painful. Is it to
the shafts of divine love ? but love was the mainstay of
her life, how could it have caused her death ? To her
Son's cross ? But if she was to die, why did she not die
on Calvary?
It is certain that never a mother loved her son so much,
because no mother had a son who was hers alone — no
mother had a son so loving, so perfect ; there never was a
mother, who had a heart so inflamed with the fire of divine
love. Many a time and oft, many mothers have died either
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'57
with grief at seeing their children die, or with fear at seeing
them on the point of dying.
How was it, then, that the Blessed Virgin did not die at
the death of her Son, she who loved Him so, she who saw
Him suffer such a cruel death ? You will tell me, with St.
Bernardin, that to live without Him, was a greater martyr-
dom than dying with Him ; because in dying with Him
she would have been martyred only once, but in surviving
Him every moment of her life, was simply a torture.
What wonder then that her life was a species of death,
and that death, thus reversing the order of nature, was
a renewal of her life ?
It is impossible for any one to describe the excess
of glory and the sublimity of the ever Blessed Virgin's
throne. We need not be astonished, as Arnold de Chartres
remarks, because her glory exceeds that of all others.
She has a rank of her own; her pedestal is raised con-
siderably higher than that of* the angels; the glory she
possesses is not solely a glory like unto that of the Word
Incarnate, it is in a certain way similar: Gloriam cum
matre, non tarn communem judico quam eamdem.
O King of glory, it is certain that magnificence and
grandeur are inherent to Your holy habitation ; You have
given striking proofs of this, on the feast of the Assumption
of Your holy Mother. You have crowned her Queen of all
saints ; there is no one but the King who precedes her. She
is so glorious, that one would say that it is the glory of God
itself, or rather that God had her with His own glory. She
is so great and powerful near You, that she herself cannot
fathom the extent of her power.
Le Pere Nouet, SJ.
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45. — jflDn tfce $olg BoiBiarB.
Father Faber and
Pere Nicolas de Dijon.
" It is better, therefore, that two should be together than one, for they have the
advantage of their society." — Ecclesiastbs iv. 9.
I CANNOT conceive a man being spiritual who does not
habitually say the Rosary. It may be called the queen
of indulgenced devotions. First, consider its importance,
as a specially Catholic devotion, as so peculiarly giving
us a Catholic turn of mind by keeping Jesus and Mary
perpetually before us, and as a singular help to final
perseverance, if we continue the recital of it, as various
revelations show.
Next consider its institution, by St. Dominic in 12 14,
by revelation, for the purpose of combating heresy, and
the success which attended it. Its matter and form, are
no less striking. Its matter, consists of the Pater, the
Ave, and the Gloria, whose authors are our Blessed
Lord himself, St. Gabriel, St. Elizabeth, the Council of
Ephesus, and the whole Church, led in the West by St.
Damasus. Its form is a complete abridgment of the
Gospel, consisting of fifteen mysteries in decades, ex-
pressing the three great phases of the work of redemption,
joy, sorrow, and glory. Its peculiarity is the next attrac-
tive feature about it. It unites mental with vocal prayer.
It is a devotional compendium of theology. It is an
efficacious practice of the presence of God. It is one
THE HOLY ROSARY.
*59
chief channel of the conditions of the Incarnation among
the faithful. It shows the true nature of devotion to our
Blessed Lady; and is a means of realising the communion
of saints.
Its ends are the love of Jesus, reparation to the Sacred
Humanity for the outrages of heresy, and a continual
affectionate thanksgiving to the most Holy Trinity, for the
benefit of the Incarnation.
It is sanctioned by the Church, by miracles, by indul-
gences, by the conversion of sinners, and by the usage of
the saints. See also, how much the method of reciting
it involves. We should first make a picture of the
mystery, and always put our Blessed Lady into the
picture ; for the Rosary is hers. We should couple some
duty or virtue with each mystery, and fix beforehand
on some soul in purgatory, to whom to apply the vast
indulgences.
Meanwhile, we must not strain our minds, or be
scrupulous ; for to say the Rosary well, is quite a thing
which requires learning. Remember always, as the
Raccolta teaches, that the fifteenth is the coronation of
Mary, and not merely the glory of the saints.
Father Faber (Orat)
Growth in Holiness.
• • * ♦ • •
The first founders of the holy Rosary, filled with the
grace of the Holy Ghost, and all on fire with divine
love, made their appearance as new apostles ready to
sacrifice their lives, and shed their blood for the love of
Jesus Christ, for the honour of the Church, and for the
defence of their faith.
It is a truth which is easy of proof by a fact perhaps
the most memorable that may have happened in France
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since God was therein known. The spirit of heresy,
which is inseparable from the spirit of rebellion, had
spread far and wide among the Albigenses. These here-
tics, not being able to defend themselves by argument or
by Holy Scripture, resolved to support their errors by
fire and sword. The King of Arragon, the Counts of
Toulouse and Armagnac, many other sovereigns and
great lords increased this party, and, uniting their forces,
they succeeded in collecting a force of one hundred
thousand men. Terror spreads around, and the storm
equally threatens religion and the state: success must be
decided, on one side or the other.
Who will dare to oppose this torrent ? Who will
disperse the tempest ? Fear not ; the God of armies,
who formerly sent Simon Machabee to protect the Jews
and to save the synagogue, raised up Simon de Montfort,
the Machabee of France, for the protection of the Church
and the Catholics.
The ever Blessed Virgin, on the other hand, giving
the Rosary to St. Dominic, repeated these consoling
words : " Take this holy sword, a gift from God, where-
with thou shalt overthrow the adversaries of my people"
(2 Machabees xv. 16).
This promise was not fruitless; this Rosary was like
Gideon's sword which, under the form of blades of
barley, caused such havoc in the camp of the Madianites.
In fact, it may be said, that if this immense heretical
army was overthrown and cut to pieces, it was owing
more to the efficacy of the Rosary, than to the power of
the crusade. The Count de Montfort's army was strong
in numbers, but the piety of his soldiers, and the help
they received from above, made them as brave as lions.
He did what Judas Machabeus did : " He armed every
one of them, not with defence of shield and spear, but
with very good speeches and exhortations " (2 Machabees
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THE HOLY ROSARY.
161
xv. n). He armed them with the Rosary too, and at
once gave the signal to charge. Invoking the name of
the Lord, they fearlessly attacked the enemy ; with
prayers on their lips, confident of victory, and sword in
hand, they overthrew the enemy's squadrons one after
the other, galloped over the bodies of the slain, and
gained one of the most famous of victories — a victory
which saved the kingdom, and was the triumph of
religion.
O Holy Virgin, the Church is indeed in the right to
sing your praises : Cunctas h&reses sola interemisti in
universo mundo, — that it is to you alone that we can
attribute the defeat of every heresy.
• . • • • • •
The Rosary is the most powerful, at the same time the
most efficacious, of daily devotions, since all kinds of
favours are granted to those who recite it devoutly and
regularly. If you wish to know what particular graces
we obtain therefrom, the following are those, which the
Blessed Alain de la Roche learned from the Blessed
Virgin herself: — Sanctitas vita, morum honestas, mundi
contemptus, domorum disciplina — Holiness of life, integrity
of purpose, contempt of the world, and peace of Christian
homes.
Le Pere Nicolas de Dijon.
On the Rosary.
L
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46.— flDn our LaUp of CJ&ount Carmel
I KNOW full well that we have within ourselves certain
signs of our predestination, nevertheless they are but con-
jectures which tend to strengthen our hope, but do not
entirely dissipate the just fears which God wills that we
should have, when we think of His impenetrable judgments.
No one, says St. Gregory, so long as he remains on earth,
can positively know what is decreed in heaven as to his
predestination, or as to his eternal loss. This is the sad
condition in which we live here below ; we are certain of
soon finishing our career in this place of exile, without
really knowing, if we shall ever see our own true country.
We must not lose sight of this tuition if we wish to pre-
vent faults, into which we are sure to fall, without that.
Our dear Lady of Mount Carmel has placed no limits
to our hope in becoming her children ; the promise she has
made of protecting us is not limited by any condition; she
has engaged that she will not suffer us to be unhappy for
all eternity, that is to say, she gives us every hope of our
salvation that we can possibly have in this life ; she pro-
mises by that, that if we persevere in her service we shall
infallibly persevere in grace.
But what do you say of so magnificent a promise ? Has
the Blessed Virgin explained it to your satisfaction, or do
you cherish some scruple? When, to calm the anxiety
which the uncertainty of your salvation causes you, you
Le Pere de la Colombiere, S.J.
" All her domestics are clothed with double garments."
— Proverbs xxxi. ax.
OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL.
1*3
would have dictated to our Blessed Lady the promises she
has made, could you have chosen more formal promises ?
The holy Fathers, when they have spoken in general
terms of the power of the Blessed Virgin, have made use of
expressions quite as strong and quite as favourable. St.
Bonaventura does not give any other limit to the power of
Mary, than to the almighty power of God. St. Antoninus
assures us that God does not make a favour when He
listens to her prayers, but He grants them as an indispen-
sable duty, and that she would not know what it is to be
refused. St. Anselm asserts that a true servant of Mary
cannot be lost
Here you have opinions sufficiently capable of inducing
you to place entire confidence in the Mother of Mercy;
but however learned and holy these men may have been
who have given us these splendid testimonials, they fall
short of the promises our Blessed Lady made to St. Simon
Stock, and of these I am about to speak.
They teach me that I have nothing to fear if the Blessed
Virgin takes an interest in me, but that is not sufficient to
appease my uneasiness; I wish to know if she does so
really.
She gives me here manifest and visible proofs. It depends
upon myself to take it in its right sense. She has attached
to this scapular her protection, for she says, " He who is
clothed with this habit shall not endure everlasting fire."
I am not, then, astonished that at the first report of so
magnificent a promise, Christians from all parts flocked to
the holy community of Mount Carmel, to whom she had
intrusted so precious a treasure.
Noblemen, princes, kings even, who have as much to
fear for their salvation as the commonest of men, eagerly
desired to participate in the privileges of these holy reli-
gious— they whose grandeurs exposed them daily to so
many dangers.
Le Pere de la Colombiere.
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This scapular imposes upon all menibers of the Confra-
ternity of Mount Carmel, the obligation of leading a pious
and truly Christian life, by renouncing the maxims of the
world, as did the early Christians when they received the
Sacrament of Baptism, and were clothed in a habit appro-
priate for the ceremony.
But many never think of this, and to this, may be attri-
buted the cause of their not fulfilling the duties of their
profession. We must, from time to time, call to mind our
engagements, in order to fulfil the promises we made when
we received the habit.
Once upon a time a powerful monarch, when he was
urged to perform some action unworthy of his high rank,
immediately displayed his regal tunic to those who had
solicited him : " Should I be worthy to wear this purple
robe/' said he, " if I had soiled it by even a single cowardly
deed ? Would it not make me blush everyday of my life,
if I had dishonoured it merely for the purpose of avoiding
death ? Could I ever look upon it without feeling an
inward reproach, that even for one day I was unworthy
to wear it?" Then rising up, he wrapped his mantle
around him and said, that he would prefer to die glori-
ously, rather than lower his dignity by performing an
unworthy action.
This, my dear brothers, ought to be our sentiment when
we wear so holy a habit ; it ought to distinguish us from
men of the world ; it ought to put us on our guard. Does
this habit reproach me ? Will it not make me blush at the
awful judgment-seat of God ? This would be our case if,
after the promises we made, we should relax and fall. Let
us then keep up the holiness of this habit by an exact
observance of all the duties of our state of life.
Sermons on every Subject.
THE HOLY CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH. 165
47.— flDn tfte $o!g CatfcoHc anD apojettottc
PfeRES Texier and Flechier.
" Behold I am with you at all times, even to the consummation of the world."
— Matthew xxviiL 2a.
[Claude Texier was one of the many distinguished preachers, who
lived during the reign of Louis XIV. of France. Born in Poitou
during the year 1610, he entered the Society of Jesus at the early age
of eighteen. After the completion of his noviceship, and after teaching
theology and rhetoric for five years, he pronounced his four vows, and
devoted himself to the direction of consciences and to the study of
preaching. He subsequently was appointed Rector of the Colleges of
Limoges, Poitiers, and Bordeaux, and finally became Provincial of
Aquitaine. He delivered the Lenten Discourses before the court of
Louis XIV. in the year 1661. Of the many works he had published
in Paris from 167$ to 1678, perhaps none will be more interesting to
the general reader, than his " Panegyrique des Saints," 1678. He
died at the Jesuit College in Bordeaux on the 24th of April 1687,
aged seventy-seven.]
The Christians of the primitive Church enticed the
pagans, not only by their generous and unconquerable
patience, but also by the holiness of their lives ; and the
heretics, as corrupt in their manners as they were in their
belief, were the cause that the name of Jesus Christ was
blasphemed among the Gentiles, and that the light and
brightness of the Church, was blackened by an infinity of
calumnies.
Read ecclesiastical history, and you will not find an age
in which hell has not vomited forth some new heresy, and
where the devil has not succeeded in seducing some one
member of the Church to arm and fight against the body.
You will see that there is not a single article of the Creed
which has not been assailed, not one article of faith for the
166 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
destruction of which the devil has not even distorted the
words of Holy Scripture and the power of the Word
of God.
As for myself, I confess that nothing demonstrates the
goodness and miraculous protection of Almighty God, so
much as the preservation and augmentation of the Church
in the midst of heresies.
A vast number of heresies have attacked the Church,
a thousand storms have raged over it, but in the midst
of tempests this ship, though battered by many roll-
ing billows, has not been shattered or engulfed. Truth
remains, errors pass away. All these heresies, aided by
the eloquence, doctrine, and subtlety of their authors,
supported by the powerful influence of the great and
noble, sustained by the armies of emperors, have passed
away, or are passing away. All these heresies have made
much noise, and, by the impetuosity of the infected
waters, have carried away all those who were not strongly
bound to the Church. They have floated with the stream,
as says St Jerome : Feruntur hcereses prono eloquentia
cursu ; quemcumque obvium et levem invenerint, secum
trahunt : sedy tanquam torrentes, velociter transierunt.
And this is the reason — they are the muddy waters
that have for their source the invention of man, and not
the pure and limpid stream that comes from God, who is
the Fountain and Source of all sanctity.
If the apostles, and those apostolic men who were
eminent for their sanctity, had not been the instruments
of Almighty God, but in reality the authors of the Church,
the Church would have failed when those apostolic men
were no more.
Besides — for we need not dissemble — how many times
has it not been seen that those who held the places of
apostles were not inheritors of their virtues, but, on the
contrary, lived in a way totally opposed to the lives of
saints ?
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Their faults, nevertheless, have never introduced error
in the doctrine of which they were the depositaries and
oracles, and the corruption of their manners have never
tarnished the faith which had been intrusted to them.
It is strange, but true, that in all sects the doctrine is
congenial to the hearts of those who taught it. It is not
thus in the Christian religion. We must, then, acknow-
ledge that its preservation, does not depend on men ; but
there is a secret and divine virtue which sustains it in
sanctity, and which causes it to last, in spite of the con-
tinual efforts of those who conspire its destruction, whether
it be from within or without.
Rev. Father Texier.
•
What blindness ! that each heretic forms his own idea
of religion, according to his own private judgment, by
refusing to subscribe to the tenets of the Church; that
each one, becomes the judge and umpire of eternal truths;
that from some particular tenet they frame a form of
worship, and introduce ceremonies, to adore the God
Almighty, or to appease His justice ; that they undertake
to reform, interpret, and reverse the precepts of the law
and Christian morals, which God has revealed to His
Church, and which the inspired writers have left us !
Heretics have understood this anomaly, for after having
refused to obey the legitimate successor of St. Peter (for
whom Jesus Christ has prayed that his faith might not
fail), they have been compelled to establish heads of their
sects, so that they may see in their congresses and synods
(which, by the by, they hold without any right, or without
any old established form) the same power they cannot
endure to see in the Catholic Church : and after having
the Augustinians, the Ambrosians, &c, they recognise the
rebels and heresiarchs as their masters and interpreters of
their religions.
Flechier.
Life of Cardinal Comviendcn
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Le Pere Texier.
A dispensation is committed to me."
— x Cor. ix. 17.
It must be now or never, that we must imitate the Apostle,
and accomplish by penitential works, what is wanting in
the passion of our Lord and Saviour.
We must implore of God the remission and indulgence
of our sins, by offering satisfactions proportionate to the
offence, as says St. Cyprian : Deum plenis satisfactionibus
deprecamur.
A jubilee, is an indulgence made up of the precious
Blood, tears, fasts, prayers, and alms of a penitent sinner;
these exhaust the vengeance of God's justice and ex-
tinguish the fire of His anger. Now, there are two ways
of satisfying the justice of Almighty God — one is the
ordinary way, the other is the extraordinary.
The ordinary way, is the path strewn with penances,
fasts, prayers, and alms-deeds; there is nothing too guilty
which these will not but prove useful and serviceable. But
there is an extraordinary way, a path of grace and a mix-
ture of mercy and justice. It is extraordinary, because
with little, it does much, and the justice of God is satisfied
with this little.
From these I calculate that there must be a great dis-
tinction between ordinary penance and a jubilee. The
first is, that penance works slowly, it takes time ; to-day
a fast, to-morrow another, as one who pays his debts by
THE TREASURES OF THE CHURCH.
169
instalments. Now, in the indulgences of a jubilee, we have
an abridgment of God's mercy. It makes quick work of
His mercies ; it is a way, that what would have taken years
of penance in the ordinary way we can expiate and satisfy
at this acceptable time (the indulgence proclaimed) in a
day.
Some Fathers of the Church, in speaking of penance,
call it Compendium poenarum externum (a shortening of
eternal punishment), because what we owe to the justice
of God in eternity, we expiate it by means of penance in
a few days. But we venture to say that an indulgence
is still a further abridgment of penance, because penance
costs us more than an indulgence. Another distinction is,
that it is difficult and harassing to expiate our sins by
sharp penances, but it becomes easy of satisfaction through
indulgences ; one is a rigorous baptism, the other a merci-
ful baptism.
Thus, we can distinguish three kinds of baptism. The
baptism by water costs nothing to the recipient, the bap-
tism of penance costs much, and the baptism of an indul-
gence is between the two : we therein find a full remission
of our sins, but at very little cost.
It is a mingling of the satisfactions of Jesus Christ and
those of the sinnner, and the little that the sinner contri-
butes is worth very much. It is not, however, on account
of our own satisfactions that jubilees have been estab-
lished, it is chiefly on those of our Saviour, because He
has merited that indulgence for us through His precious
Blood, and that He has left us the treasures of His own
merits to defray all costs.
If you ask me why our Lord and Saviour has given the
power of applying the merits of His precious Blood by
indulgences and jubilees to His vicars, the sovereign pon-
tiffs, I would answer that He wishes to save us the more
easily.
170 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
It was not sufficient for Him to have extinguished the
eternal flames of hell, but He wishes further, that His
Blood should serve to liquidate the debts of temporal
punishment, which are owing to the justice of God.
In the primitive Church, when Christians were full of
zeal and fervour, there was not so much occasion for
jubilees for expiating their past sins; they cheerfully sub-
mitted to the strictest penances, and had no other wish to
satisfy divine justice, than by practising rigorous austeri-
ties. But because, in the course of time, charity grew cold,
jubilees and indulgences were needed, in order we might
be able to be reconciled to God, and to satisfy fully His
justice.
As the jubilee was given to Christians through an ex-
traordinary flow of divine mercy, we must remark that,
according to Holy Scripture, there is in God a mercy
which, on account of its grand result, is called great:
Secundum magnam misericordiam tuam — According to
Thy great mercy.
Now this great mercy of our Lord and God, is like unto
one of those grand and noble rivers which seem to be ever
full, but which, at certain seasons of the year, the tide runs
so high, that the water overflows the banks, and fertilises
the fields around.
Thus we may say that it is at the time of a jubilee, that
the divine mercy inundates the Christian people, and over-
whelms the faithful with a deluge of graces. This abun-
dant stream of God's merciful goodness, does not only
wash the roots of those trees growing on .its banks, as the
Psalmist says, that is to say, it does not communicate
itself to the good and fervent alone, but it is intended for
the greatest of sinners, those who are the furthest removed
from Him.
Le Pere Tkxier.
Domintcale.
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Flechier and St. Jerome.
" He that heareth you, heareth me ; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me."
— LUKH X. 16.
In the first book of Paralipomenon {chap. xv. 14) it
mentions that the priests and Levites were sanctified to
carry the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.
If the priests of the Old Testament, who offered up the
incense and common bread, were required to be holy, if
they were to be sanctified to carry the ark of the Lord
God of Israel, ought not the priests of the New Testa-
ment to be truly sanctified ; for do they not offer up the
Heavenly bread, the Bread of Life, the only Son of God,
and have they not the honour of carrying daily the Lord
of the ark, even the very God of Israel? In another place
it is said, " Purify yourselves, you who have charge of the
vessels of the sanctuary."
You do not carry solely the vessels of the Lord, my
brethren; you carry the Lord Himself, you bear Him in
your hands, you carry Him on your tongues, you enclose
Him in your hearts. How, then, dare you carry Him with
unclean hands, on indiscreet tongues, in corrupted hearts ?
How can you be so cruel as to carry Him with you in
the world, which is His enemy, and wherein sin and
abomination dwell ?
The High Priest said one day: As I have always
lived far apart from the world, I fancied that my brethren
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lived as I did ; but I have been surprised, by persons of
the first consideration who have come to find me out,
and who have told me, that not only the people of
Israel, but the priests and Levites, have not separated
themselves from the people of the lands and from their
abominations" (i Esdras xv).
I was so deeply moved by this news, continues this
holy man, that "I rent my mantle and my coat, and
plucked off the hairs of my head and my beard, and I sat
down mourning" {Esdras xv. 3).
Priests should be holy, says God, because I am holy,
and that My being holy I wish My ministers to be holy,
and I cannot endure any but holy men to approach Me
or My altars. Sanctity is a necessary appendage for the
priest, and the want of holiness is a species of irregularity
which is unbearable, and which I cannot suffer.
Let not those who have not the courage to try to become
saints, be rash enough to be priests of My altars : " They
shall not come near to me, to do the office of priest to
me; neither shall they come near to any of my holy
things that are by the holy of holies" {Ezechiel xliv. 13).
This is as much as to say, that priests who are not holy
do an injury to God ; they tarnish the glory of His name;
they defile His temple, altar, and sacrifice; they scan-
dalise His religion; they do violence to His sanctity; they
offend His Divine -Majesty, and this is what the following
words signify : Et non polluent notnen ejus.
There is no condition of life more noble, more exalted,
than that of being a priest of Jesus Christ ; there is also
no state which requires more preparation. They belong
to God by a particular consecration; consequently they
ought to be more attached to Him. They are privileged
to approach near to God, and they ought to be of the
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173
purest They beseech and appease God for all the
faithful, so they ought to be worthy of His propitiation
for themselves.
They represent Jesus Christ; they ought to enter into
His spirit ; they dispense and offer up the holy mysteries ;
from these they ought to gather its firstfruits. As they
should be masters of the spiritual life, it is only right that
they should fix it in their own hearts, and by their
actions, show that they love all that is spiritual. They
reprove and correct others, so their conduct should be
irreproachable. They have received more graces, they
should therefore be more grateful ; their sins attract
attention, and therefore they should be the more cautious.
It is difficult for them to retrieve themselves if they fall,
and they ought to preserve their innocence, with fear and
trembling.
Reflections, such as these should induce, those whom
God has called to this holy state to exercise the greatest
care imaginable.
Idleness and disgust usually follow haste and im-
prudence, says St. Bernard. He who usurps the office of
priesthood, will be a useless possessor of such a dignity.
Not having consulted God, he will not be the work of
God's own hand ; and having closed the entrance of grace,
he will be unable to fulfil properly and faithfully those
functions which the grace of God can alone enable him to
accomplish.
On the other hand, a genuine vocation engenders zeal,
and it is difficult for him who has devoted himself entirely
to the service of God not to make it his sole business to
serve and honour Him.
The priesthood of Jesus Christ is not a sinecure, but a
ministry of toil and trouble, which includes a multiplicity
of essential duties difficult to carry out.
"Be thou vigilant and labour in all things," says the
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Apostle to Timothy, exhorting him to strengthen himself
in his laborious vocation, through the merits of Jesus
Christ, and to " labour as a good soldier of Jesus Christ,"
which will enable him to resist all the powers of darkness.
" Do the work of an evangelist," preaching the Word of
God, after having impressed it upon his own heart, and
rendered it manifest by his own deeds. " Fulfil thy
ministry," not so much to keep the faith, as to preserve
it pure and holy — mysteries of our Lord and Saviour
which must be carried out with fear, and secrets of
conscience which must be religiously concealed. " Keep
that which is committed to thy trust," and be prepared to
carry out any amount of duty which truth, justice, and
charity may impose upon you.
L'ABBE Flechier.
From his Panegyrics*
• •••«••
The clergy are called by that name, either because they
are a portion of the inheritance of the Lord or because
the Lord is their portion. He, therefore, who is thus of
the heirdom of the Lord, or he who has God for his por-
tion, should show himself to be worthy of possessing God,
and that God should possess him.
He who engages to serve the Church, as a minister of
Christ, knows well at first the meaning of the title, and by
understanding the full significance of the name of priest,
it enforces the fulfilment of every duty of his office.
St. Jerome.
Epist. ad Nepotianum.
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175
50.— flDn Material Cfmrcfteft
Flechier and St. Chrysostom.
" How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts ! my soul longeth and fainteth
for the courts of the Lord."— Psalm lxxxiii. a, 3.
Extracts from a Sermon preached by Mgr. FLECHIER on
the Dedication of the Church of St. fames the Major,
in Paris.
Unfortunately, there are people who go to church, with-
out humility or prudence; they assist at the grand services,
as if they were going to the theatre. Instead of thinking
of the feast, or with any idea of being attentive, they
ridicule all they see. Loaded as they are with sins, they
insolently stride across the threshold of those sacred gates,
according to the language of the prophet ; they affect a
grand air, as if they were persons of distinction, and this,
too, in those places where all worldly importance should
cease to be.
They hurry on the crowd in order to be a near witness
of the ceremonies, rather than having a wish to participate
in heavenly graces. They push even to the altar rails, not
through an earnest eager devotion, but through a vain
curiosity. They bring in with them a worldly heart ;
and when even they are coldly speaking and praying to
Almighty God, they are thinking more of themselves and
of their vanities. In fact, they have no scruples in going
in, and they drag in with them their iniquities without
compunction or remorse.
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What shall I say of those impieties which are committed
daily in the presence of Jesus in the tabernacle, who, all invi-
sible as He is, is no less to be adored ? — of those profane
remarks, which disturbing the holy and venerable silence of
the sacred mysteries, interrupting the meditations of the
faithful, reaching even to the sanctuary, and distracting
the attention of the ministers who are attending on the
celebrant ?
What of those mincing airs and indecorous postures
which so scandalise the good, which are, according to the
words of Jesus Christ, the desolation of those holy places,
where angels assist with fear and trembling ? What shall
I say of those affected ways, of seeing and wishing to be
seen, which convert the house of God into a place of ren-
dezvous for immodest glances and guilty thoughts ?
We see, with no small amount of indignation, some
Christians, (if I may dare to call them Christians), who
scarcely deign to bend a knee when Jesus is exposed for
the adoration of the faithful, as if to dispute the homage
that is due to Him, as if it pricked their conscience and
reminded them of the little feeling of religion which may
be left within them.
Worldly persons, more gaily decked out than the altars
even, display proudly their luxurious finery, and often
seem proud of their indecent attire, and this too, before
the poor and humble Jesus, hidden in the Holy Sacrament
of the Eucharist
We see sinners entering heart and soul into conversa-
tions that only re-enkindle their bad passions, and thus
commit fresh sins even in front of those tribunals of pen-
ance, wherein they should confess and weep for them.
It thus happens, that the very means of our salvation
become the instruments of our loss; that the church,
which is the place wherein we should sanctify ourselves,
becomes the theatre of our delinquencies; that prayers are
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177
turned into sins, that even the sacrifice of our Lord, which
is the source of all graces, becomes a subject of con-
demnation; and that nothing in His judgment can per-
haps more add to our guilt, than the having entered into
His temple, and the having assisted unworthily at His
mysteries.
How many there are, who go to church in order to keep
up a certain decorous reputation, because it is customary,
because it would not do to offend the world, bad as it is —
a world which piques itself on certain rules of decorum,
and a desire to keep up an outward show of religion !
How many there are, who acknowledge and practise an
exterior worship, who glorify God with their lips, whose
prayers are heartless, who give up their minds to voluntary
distractions, speak without thinking, pray without knowing
what they are saying, and expect that God listens to them
when they do not listen to themselves ! This is what St
Cyprian says : How many there are who, when they make
an act of devotion, fancy they do honour to the church they
frequent, who are always in the most conspicuous seats, and
who only approach to God, merely to be seen by men !
How many there are, who come to church because they
are forced to come, who consider the long service of a
great feast a bore, and who grumble because they are
under the necessity of hearing a sermon, or of remaining
until the grand High Mass is over! Is not all this an
abuse of holy things ?
We should enter God's temple in order to become holy.
It seems to me that all therein should conduce to our
sanctification ; that baptismal font which reminds us of
the origin of our spiritual regeneration, and puts us in
mind of the grace and obligations of our baptism ; those
altars teach us, that we have a heart wherein Jesus wishes
to dwell, and wherein we can offer as many sacrifices as
we have temptations. Those confessionals, do they not
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178 HALF'HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
invite us to sigh for our sins, do they not make us long to
be bathed in the precious Blood of Jesus ? That pulpit,
does it not preach to us that we should be new men,
engendered by the Word of God ? That divine and ador-
able tabernacle, does it not lovingly entreat us to kneel
and pray before Him with great purity of intention, and
to ask for the grace to love Him more and more ?
L'Abbe* Flechier,
You have the church, which is a refuge, and, if I may
dare to say so, is a heaven in miniature. You have a sacri-
fice offered up and consummated ; you have the house
wherein the Holy Ghost showers down abundant graces ;
you have the tombs and relics of the martyrs and saints,
and many other things, which should induce you to return
from a state of sin and indifference to that of grace and
justice.
St. Chrysostom.
Homily Ixix.
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179
51.— flDn ©unDagfii anH $olttiag&
Perb Montmorel, and from
" Les Discours Chr&ientus."
" Blessed is the man who observes the Sabbath-day, who keeps his hands pure,
and who abstains from any kind of sin."— Isaias lvL 2.
The Sunday has succeeded to the Sabbath. It is for-
bidden on that holy day to do any servile work, and all
are under the strict obligation of attending the divine
office. After having spent six days in the tumult of tem-
poral affairs, is it not just and right to devote one day for
the purpose of collecting one's thoughts, and of thinking
of spiritual things ?
You work during six days, says the Lord, and in those
six days you do all that you have to do. But the seventh
day, is consecrated to the Lord your God.
To celebrate Sundays and holidays properly, your chief
aim should be, to avoid all that is evil, and to do good.
It is true that there can be no time when it is permitted
to do wrong, or that we are not always obliged to do good ;
still it is also true that we have particular obligations on
fixed days to avoid the one with greater care, and to do
the other with greater zeal.
Alas ! who would credit it if one did not see it with
their own eyes ? Christians, as uncouth as the Jews, think
that they satisfy the obligation of keeping the Sunday by
merely abstaining from manual labour, as if they acted
solely from a wise policy or to give rest to a tired body,
not from any wish of strengthening the soul, after it has
been weakened by the worry and cares of business.
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It is also true that many, whose profession consists
chiefly of head-work, or those who have nought else to
do but play and' amuse themselves, make no difference
on feast-days, except the hearing a Mass in a hurried
way, their minds thinking of worldly things, their hearts
filled with frivolities. We can even affirm that, generally
speaking, more harm is done on Sundays and holidays.
It is this that caused St. Chrysostom to say that the Sab-
bath, which had been set apart for cleansing our souls
from sins committed during the week, was a day set apart
for the commission of greater sins.
How do most people follow this precept ? Instead of
employing the Sunday for the expiation of their faults,
we may safely say, especially of those engaged in mer-
cenary occupations, that it is a day -for adding sin to sins.
They spend the day in all kinds of sensuality, and give
themselves up to drunken joy.
Our Lord. could now say, what He said in former times
to the Jews through the mouth of JHis prophet Isaias:
" I hate your solemnities of the first day of the month, and
all your other feasts ; they have become burthensome, and
I am weary of enduring them." Mark these words, " Your
solemnities;" as if our Lord had said : You have made My
feasts your feasts, and the days that ought to be conse-
crated to My glory, you devote to the satiety of your
passions : Solemnitates vestros odivit anima mea.
As regards manual labour, it is not bad in itself, and it
is not to condemn it, that God forbids it on days that are
consecrated holy. .It is not also that He approves of idle-
ness, which of itself is a great evil ; but it is ih order that
all work or employment, however good in itself, must yield
for a time to one more excellent — a work for which man
is created — which is to know God, to adore, honour, and
love Him above all. This is the chief end of the law.
You shall work for six days in the week, and during
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that time you can do your work and provide for your
wants; but the seventh day is the Lord's day, and you
must relinquish labour to offer Him your love, adoration,
and homage.
PERE MONTMOREL.
Sermon on 16M Sunday after Pentecost.
• ••••••
When God created the world He worked for six days,
after which Scripture says that He rested on the seventh.
But in what consisted this rest of God ? Here it is : " And
God saw all the things that he had made, and they were
very good." God took a general review of all His works,
and found them to be good and perfect. He found His
rest in His approval. This is what we should imitate.
Leave off your servile work, and take a survey of your
conduct throughout the past week. See if you can say
with God, that all that you have done during these six
days is good. Examine if you have been faithful to God
and your neighbour; if you have fulfilled the duties of
your state of life; if there has been any injustice in your
employment or business.
After this examination, give your approval to that which
has been good, rectify that which has been faulty, and
consecrate the rest of the day in renewals of love to God,
so that He may be propitious to us. Do this also, in
reparation for the many dissipations you have compla-
cently indulged in.
Discours Chritiennes.
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52.— Dn jFasitmgiff anU abjatmence*
LE PERE DE LA COLOMBlfeRE.
M Prayer with fasting is holy and pleasing to God."
— Tobias xii. 8.
The lesson which the Son of God teaches us in the
desert shows us, that the best methods of resisting
temptations are by fasting and mortification of the
body.
Subdue the flesh, and you weaken the devil ; for he can
do nothing, if we deprive him of his weapons.
Let it not be said that fasting and mortification are
intended only for religious bodies; for since our Saviour
has deigned to make use of this remedy (although He
had no need of it), there is no one of whatever rank or
condition can be dispensed from this obligation.
If persons of quality, or people in business, were exempt
from the temptations and attacks of the evil one, it might
be allowable to treat their bodies delicately; but since the
enemy tempts them more than others, they require ever
to be on the defensive, and consequently fasting, is to them
the more necessary.
The chief object of fasting is to mortify the body, to
deaden the passions, and to keep the soul in a state of
grace.
To live then in pleasures and gaiety during the holy
season of Lent, and to continue in sin, is contrary to the
spirit of fasting, and to the intentions of our holy mother
the Church.
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How miserable are they who poison so efficacious a
remedy, and who deliberately refuse to make use of a cure
which the Church gives them, for the purpose of over-
coming the world, the flesh, and the devil!
As the first man was condemned for not having
abstained from eating, notwithstanding the express com-
mand of God, so the Creator has fixed on fasting as a
reparation for this first sin. It is the best means of
avoiding the consequences of original sin, the best remedy
to restore peace of mind, to control the passions, and to
bring our flesh under subjection.
Over-eating and over-drinking have made the devil
victorious throughout the world, but fasting drives him
away ; for does not St. Matthew say in his Gospel {chap.
xvii. 20) that " this kind is not cast out, but by prayer and
fasting"?
We read in the annals of ecclesiastical history of an
edifying circumstance which occurred in Constantinople
under the reign of the Emperor Justinian. It is therein
related that this city was visited by a terrible famine,
and that the season of Lent having come round, before
God had withdrawn the frightful scourge, the Emperor
caused all the meat-markets to be thrown open, and he
issued an edict to the effect, that he granted leave from
abstinence during Lent for that year only.
But how do you think so humane and considerate
an order was received by the people ? Oh ! happy age !
Oh, my God, is there a spark now left of this ancient
fervour? Would you believe it, ye Christians of the
nineteenth century, that in. this vast city, weakened as it
had been by so dire a calamity, there was not to be
found a single Christian, I say got one, who wished to
take advantage of the favour granted. And yet this
was not all ; for no sooner was the dispensation published,
than the whole body of Christians besieged the palace,
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and implored the Emperor to revoke the edict, and restore
the old laws, since they were ready to die rather than
break them.
Not to speak of those who absolutely refuse to obey
the precepts of the Church, there are many, alas! who
seek for dispensation from abstinence, &c, without any
reasonable excuse ; and it is my firm belief that of those
who ask for leave without necessity, there would not be
found one single person who properly fulfilled the Easter
obligation.
What ! ye pleasure seekers, during the forty days you
have continued in the same sins, nay added sin to sin,
deliberately and with all the coolness, that acts of so long
a duration cannot fail to have ; and yet you wish me to
believe that all of a sudden, perhaps in a single night,
your heart is so changed that it . detests the past frightful
dissipations, and that the horror of the excess, equals the
pleasure you had in committing sin.
Were you on your death-bed, I would question the
sincerity of your contrition, after committing sins so
recently, so openly, and after showing such a manifest
contempt of the precepts of the Church.
And now, that you are in good health, you would
wish to persuade me that you are willing to begin afresh,
if the fast recommenced, and you wish to persuade me to
believe that your repentance is sincere.
As for myself, I believe it to be false, and I should
hesitate to pronounce the absolution, for fear of profaning
the precious Blood of our Lord, unless indeed I saw that
you were ready to fast for forty days after the feast, as a
proof of your repentance.
Rev. Pere de la Colombiere, S.J.
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THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM 185
53.— Dn tfte ©acrament of 'Bapttem*
St. Chrysostom, Pere Nepveu,
and St. Leo.
" Going therefore, teach ye all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." — Matthew xxviiL 19.
Let us try to preserve the noble birth which we have
inherited from our baptism.
If an earthly potentate had found you poor and begging,
and had suddenly adopted you as his son, you would soon
forget your past misery, you would no longer think of
your lowly hut, however great may have been the differ-
ence between these things.
Think, then, no more of your first state, since the one
to which you have been called, is comparatively more
illustrious than regal dignity ; for he who has summoned
you, is the King of angels, and the property He has
reserved for you is not only far beyond our comprehen-
sion, but even beyond all that words can express. He
does not frelp you to pass from one station of life to one
higher, as this Potentate could have done ; but He raises
you from earth to heaven, from a mortal life to an immortal
life, a life so glorious and inexpressible that it will not be
known, until we gain possession of it.
How then, being partakers of these grand blessings, can
we presume to think of the riches of this world, and how
can we trifle away our time in frivolous and vain amuse-
ments ? What excuses will remain, or rather what punish-
ments ought we not to suffer, if, after having received so
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wondrous a grace, we should return to that first condition
from which we have been so fortunately — ay! so mercifully
— withdrawn ?
You will not be punished simply as a sinful man, but
as a rebellious child of God ; and the lofty eminence ot
the dignity to which you were raised, will only serve to
increase your punishment.
St. Chrysostom.
From Sermon xii. on St. Matthew.
What is it to be a Christian ?
It is a man who has a close affinity with God, and
through baptism becomes His Son. What more exalted,
what more grand ! What Jesus Christ is by nature, the
Christian is by adoption. He receives through spiritual
regeneration, the likeness of that which the Word receives
through eternal generation. We have received, says St
Paul, the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we dare to
call God our Father, and, if sons, heirs also.
The birth of Jesus Christ in Mary, says St. Augustine,
is the model of our second birth, which is made through
baptism. They proceed from the same source, which is
the Holy Ghost : one was made in the bosom of Mary,
who is virgin and mother, and the other is made in the
bosom of the Church, which is pure and fruitful. The end
of the first is Christ, that is to say, a Man-God ; the end of
the second is a Christian, that is to say, a man-divine.
God, says St. John, could He have carried His love and
our happiness further than by making us really and truly
children of God ? Could we push our ingratitude and
unworthiness further than by disgracing that glorious title
by a behaviour, as criminal as it would be shameful ?
A Christian is one who has a close affinity to Jesus
Christ, of whom he is, through baptism, made a member.
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THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM.
187
What more glorious ? All Christians, says St. Paul, are
but one body, of which Jesus is the head. By this sacra-
ment they become members which unites them to Him,
by a genuine union, since it forms an article of faith ; by a
very real union, since the Holy Ghost is its source; an
intimate union, since we are animated by the spirit of Jesus
Christ we dwell within Him — a union, in short, sublime,
since the Redeemer compares it to the union which He
Himself has with His Father: Tu in me, et ego in itfis.
So that, as says St Peter, we by that, become partakers
of the divine nature.
If Jesus Christ, who obtains for us all these advantages,
had not He Himself secured them for us, could we have
believed in them ? But if we do believe them, should we
not have a more exalted idea of them, and ought not
our conduct to be conformable to our belief?
Through baptism, a Christian becomes a temple of the
Holy Ghost. Do you not know, says the Apostle, that
your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who dwells
within you? Thus it is that the same ceremonies are
made use of in baptism as in the consecration of churches.
Through exorcism, the devil is expelled from the soul of
him who is made a Christian, it is consecrated by the holy
chrism, a figure of the anointing of grace by which the
Holy Ghost spreads around the heart ; it takes possession
of it by that mysterious breathing of the priest who
baptises ; it then becomes the source and object of the
worship, which the faithful pay Him in that temple,
through acts of faith, hope, and charity. It is that Holy
Ghost who prays in him, by moanings so efficacious; and
it is on account of that, they are so Very meritorious, that
they are able to impart an undoubted right to the posses-
sion of God. Could God honour man more than by making
him a child of God, brother of a Man-God and a temple of
the Holy Ghost? Also, St. John tells us, that through
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baptism, we enter into fellowship with the Father, and the
Son, and consequently with the Holy Ghost.
What glorious fellowship! What exultation! What
happiness !
Le Pere Nepveu.
"Reflexions on Chretimnes."
• ••••« •
Through the Sacrament of Baptism you become the
temple of the Holy Ghost. Take care not to drive such
a guest away by your sins, and thus become a slave of the
devil ; because the price of your redemption, is the precious
Blood of Jesus.
Acknowledge your dignity, O Christian; and, having been
clothed with a nature quite divine, do not return, I entreat
you, to your old vileness, by leading a life, which would
lower the rank to which you have been raised.
Remember whose chief and body you are the member
of. Remember that, having been withdrawn from the
power of darkness, you have been transferred to the light
of the kingdom of God.
St. Leo.
On the Nativity.
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THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE. 189
54.— tfce Sacrament of penance.
Bourdaloue and Pere Masson.
" He that hideth his sins shall not prosper ; but he that shall confess and forsake
them, shall obtain mercy." — Proverbs xxviii. 13.
St. CHRYSOSTOM, in his fifth homily on the Epistle to
the Corinthians, asks, Whence comes it that we confess
our secret sins, and that on this depends our judgment?
The judges of the land do not act thus, for they never
pass sentence or deliver their judgment until there is a
verdict.
But, says the saintly doctor, we have rules which
earthly judges have not; fox we do not profess to punish
as they do, but are content to submit to the Church, who
imposes a penance for their crimes.
The Royal Prophet, wishing to avert the anger and
justice of Almighty God, asks for mercy and pardon :
"Have mercy on me, O God! according to the multitude
of thy tender mercies." It is thus he cries out and im-
plores that pardon and mercy, which washes and purges
so that no stain or .soil may remain : " Wash me yet more
from my iniquity." And why ? because he has confessed
his sins and acknowledges the enormity of his offences :
" Because I know my iniquity." Why say " because " ?
says St. Chrysostom. Because he acknowledges his fault,
he wishes God to forgive him. Is that justice ? Never-
theless, it is the Royal Penitent who speaks. It is true,
0 Lord, that the confession of my sins is an easy atone-
ment ; but You are content with this, I do not offer any
other, and I have no other way open to be reconciled with
You. Pardon my sins, because I acknowledge and confess
them.
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Confession is a fountain of grace : Haurietis aquas in
gaudio de fontibus salvatoris. What does the devil do—
he who is the mortal enemy of our salvation ? He sees
that confession is a pure fountain, and he seeks to poison
its waters ; by the bad use he tempts us to make use of it,
or by the hardness of heart he instils into our mind not to
go to confess at all, and in this way he acts as did Holo-
fernes in the city of Bethulia, who broke all the conduits
and drained the fountains in order that the Israelites
should die of thirst. It is thus that the devil tries to dry
up the canals of the Sacrament, from whence flows the
precious Blood of Jesus Christ. He, too, gives us a disgust
of confession, and makes us turn away from it ; he whispers
that there is great danger of using this Sacrament badly;
he suggests the disadvantage of performing the act badly.
He tells us not to approach too often ; he does not tell us
to make frequent good confessions, but he persuades us
that we may sometimes go to keep up appearances, or out
of human respect, but he does not say that frequent con-
fession is good, if it be accompanied with a good and pious
motive.
In addition to the grace which is attached to the Sacra-
ment to prevent our falling back, what power has not a
prudent confessor on those souls, who are resolved to be
under his direction ? What will he not do when he knows
how to win their confidence, and what pains will he not
be compelled to take, to secure the perseverance and salta-
tion of the souls intrusted to his guidance ? What injus-
tices in trade will he not try to rectify, and what foolish
engagements will he not break off? What zealous care
will he not take to root out the most violent passions,
what resentments will he not stifle, what reconciliations
will he not effect, when he sees any family disagreements?
He will be the medium of making souls unselfish ; he will
cause many to renounce usury and avarice, and persuade
THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE.
191
others to make restitution for ill-gotten goods. This is
what a good director can do, and what a zealous confessor
aims to do.
We must also add that frequent confession is a powerful
curb on the conscience, and fosters the duty of the holy
fear of God ; so that a man has not an idea of returning to
sin, when he thinks of the pain and shame of confessing
it. This thought produces nearly the same effect as the
preparation for death ; for it makes us remember that we
ought to appear in the tribunal of penance, as if we should
be summoned to stand before God to be judged.
What more can be said ? The sweet use of confession
redeems a soul from sins, and so invigorates the will that
the most violent temptations are successfully resisted.
How different the fate of those who shake off the yoke of
confession, or who go to confession but very seldom, or
those who abandon themselves to all kinds of disorderly
sins ?
If you love the beauty of your soul, says St. Bernard,
cherish confession. It is that, that re-ornaments it, and
renews all the traces of beauty which had been tarnished
by sin. But why ? one may say. What does God want
with a verbal declaration ? Does He not read our hearts ?
does He not see all that passes ? Ah ! says the saint, He
demands this confession — non ut agnoscat sed ut ignoscat —
not but that He knows better than we do, for He sees the
innermost recesses of our consciences, but that He may
be able to forgive us. It is sufficient to lay bare all our
wounds, that He may cure them ; it is sufficient to accuse
ourselves, that we may be excused ; it is sufficient that we
should condemn ourselves, in order to be absolved. Can
confession offer more advantageous blessings ?
BOURDALOUE.
Sermon on Confession,
Le Pere Masson.
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55.— Dn $olg Communion.
PfeRES Castillo, Vaubert, and St. Cpyrian.
" Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not
have life in you."— John vi. 54.
[Matthieu de Castillo was born in Palermo in the year 1664.
He entered the order of St. Dominic in 1679, taught theology with
great success, and was esteemed as an excellent preacher. This
religious died in the year 1720, leaving behind him several works of
merit, among which may be named a Funeral Panegyric on Pere
Ange-Marie, a Franciscan monk, and an abridged Life of St. Vincent
Ferrier.]
IT is the opinion of St. Thomas and of all subsequent
theologians that venial shis are remitted by the power
of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, if received in a
state of grace. Pope Innocent goes further that this,
for he assures us, that a fervent communion will prevent
us from falling into mortal sin, inasmuch as it enables
us to keep in a state of grace; because, says the saintly
doctor, as corporeal nourishment strengthens the system,
and renews fresh vigour in the body, so in like manner
the constant use of the spiritual food, Holy Communion,
imparts a strength of will, which before was weakened by
sensuality or by venial sins.
To this may be added that, as habitual venial sin
decreases the fervour of charity, therefore, in order to
renew and re-enkindle our devotion, nothing is more
beneficial, no cure more certain, than the devout reception
ON HOLY COMMUNION.
193
of Holy Communion. It is a daily remedy against our
daily infirmities, so says St. Ambrose.
St. Bernard says, If there be any among you who has
experienced a change of . heart and will ; if you have no
innate desire for or delight in the things of this world ;
if anger, envy, sensuality, or any other vice should be
deadened in you ; if these do not tempt you, or if they
do not disturb your mind or conscience, do not be vain-
glorious in these victories, but return thanks to Jesus in
His sacrament of love. " Because the virtue of this
sacrament will work within you," continues the saint It is
the strength and power of this adorable sacrament which
has metamorphosed many a worldly man to a fervent
servant of God.
To those who, after Holy Communion, fall soon into
mortal sin, I implore them to consider with what zeal
the holy Fathers have inveighed against such relapses,
and in what terms they speak of the awful consequences
resulting therefrom.
To return after receiving communion to your former
state of sin, is, they say, to profane the temple of the
Holy Ghost, to dishonour the mystical body of Jesus
Christ; it is to follow the example of Judas, to betray Him
and to deliver Him up to His enemies.
The Body of Christ has been intrusted to you, says St.
Athanasius. You are His temple, and He dwells within
you. What do I say ? You have become a member of His
Body; treat Him with respectful love, and do not betray
Him as Judas did.
In many passages, St. Chrysostom has displayed his
eloquence, when he strongly recommended purity of life,
after the reception of Holy Communion, and when he
represents to his flock the enormous sin committed by
those who easily return to their former state of tepidity.
Le Pere Castillo.
N
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[Luke Vaubert was born at Noyon in 1644, and entered the Society
of Jesus on the 21st of September 1622. After his novitiate, he was
made professor of the humanities, rhetoric, and philosophy. He was
afterwards elected as Rector of the College of Lou is-le- Grand in
Paris, and therein died on the 15th of April 1716. Among his
spiritual works, the one entitled " Devotion to our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist," is the best known, and has often
been reprinted.]
O my divine Saviour ! how sorely grieved am I, when
I think how unworthy I am, and how I have hitherto
abused Thy excessive goodness. How often have I
wandered from Thee, I who have been more debased,
more ungrateful than the prodigal son.
But if I have imitated him in his folly, I, following his
example, return to You, overwhelmed with shame, and
I hope that You will receive me, with the same tenderness
as his father received him. I could say indeed with more
truth, that I do not deserve to be treated as one of Your
children ; but I know Your tender heart, and since You
have deigned to will that I should partake of the Bread of
Angels, I dare to believe, that Thou wilt look on me, and
receive me as one of Thy servants.
We ask daily for bread, for fear that being deprived of
it, and by not receiving it in Holy Communion, we should
be deprived of the mystical Body of Christ
He who abstains from receiving Holy Communion, and
separates himself from the body of the Lord, has much
reason to fear, for he withdraws himself, at the same time,
from eternal salvation ; for does not Christ say, " Unless
you eat of the Son of man, you shall not have life in you*?
L'Abbe Vaubert.
St. Cyprian.
On the Lords Prayer.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST AS A SACRIFICE. 195
56.— flDn t&e $olg 4Eucfoari0t a* a ©am&'ce.
L'Abb£ Fl£chier.
*' And the altar shall be sanctified by my glory. I will sanctify also the taber-
nacle of the testimony with the altar."— Exodus xxix. 43.
The Mass is a sacrifice, that is to say, it is a supreme
worship, a real immolation, a public recognition of the
sovereignty of God, and a sincere protestation by some
visible ceremonies of the intimate and necessary depend-
ence of our existence on a Superior Being, which can be
but God alone. For, my brethren, recollect that we
believe, that we are rendering to the angels, martyrs,
saints — to the Mother of God herself, raised in dignity
above the angels, and in merit above the saints — that we
are rendering, I say, a homage which has been reserved
for them as an inheritance, and as a regal mark of adora-
tion which is due to Him.
The Mass is a sacrifice instituted by Jesus Christ, says
St. Cyril, having an immutable priesthood, consecrated by
an everlasting unction from all ages, in erecting the new
law has established this sacrifice of His Body and Blood —
a precious monument of His infinite love for men.
It was on that fatal night, when He was to be delivered
up to His enemies, that He offered Himself to His Father
under the species of bread and wine, being both together,
says St. Paulinus, both the priest of His victim and the
victim of His priesthood ; then enjoining His apostles,
and those priests who legitimately succeeded them, to do
the same, even to the consummation of the world.
• ••••••
There is, then, in the Church a divine sacrifice, which
/ the Council of Trent has designated as the highest work
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of God — opus Dei; divine in its beginning, God alone,
by His Almighty power, being capable of changing the
bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ;
divine in its midst, God alone becoming man, in order to
be a victim fit to appease the anger of a sovereign majesty;
divine in its end, God alone being able to be the object of
those everlasting testimonies and of that divine oblation ;
divine in its duration, as the prophet Daniel had predicted.
It is not composed, as formerly, of many victims, but of
one only, which is perpetuated on our altars; which is
multiplied without being divided, which is sacrificed without
dying, and eaten without being consumed, since it is the
immortal and impassible Body of Jesus Christ.
It is the same God who speaks through His prophet
Malachias. Listen to Him with docility and respect:
" For from the rising of the sun even to the going down,
my name is great among the Gentiles. I see in every
place altars, whereon is offered to my name a clean offer-
ing " (Malack i. Li).
What, then, is that victim which the Lord even so
honours, as to attract His attention and complacency, which
is so pleasing through its purity and innocence? Is it
that of animals, whose impure and coarse blood would
render it far from agreeable? Can it be our works,
wherein malice is so often mingled, where flesh and blood
have a share, where concupiscence is almost always mixed
up with secret vanities or petty interests ? Can it be our
prayers, which are but too often accompanied with dis-
tractions, disgust, impatience, and self-love ? No, doubt-
less. This glorious sacrifice, is that of the Mass, which is
offered up in every quarter of the globe for the propitia-
tion and satisfaction of our sins ; this oblation is of itself
so pure and holy, that neither the unworthiness of him who
offers it up, nor the irreverence of those who assist at it,
can in the least degree deprive it of its holiness.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST AS A SACRIFICE.
197
We all meet in the church to give a public testimony
of our faith and piety, and the visible sacrifice which is
offered at the Mass is the sign of the invisible Sacrifice ;
so, says St. Augustine, modesty and a devout posture of the
body ought to be the sign of our devotion and interior
reverence. It is there we go to confess Jesus Christ before
men, so that He may acknowledge us before His Heavenly
Father. Where is it that we ought to give outward signs
of that respectful fear, but in the presence of that divine
majesty of God, residing in the tabernacles of His church ?
Our sole occupation should consist in adoring God, and
acquitting ourselves well, in all our religious duties to Him,
to whom we are so indebted.
Besides, we are obliged to give edification to all the
faithful; and if we are at all times, and in all places, expected
to show a good example, surely it is at the church during
the celebration of the divine mysteries that we should do so.
Nevertheless, how many profanations and irreverences
are daily committed during Holy Mass? How many
attend carelessly and thoughtlessly, although God bids us
tremble when we place our feet on the threshold of those
venerable piles, wherein religion and its mysteries are set
apart for worship ?
Many enter the church thinking only of useless trifles,
foolish appointments, or frivolous amusements ; they look
out for a Mass which they suspect will be a short one, as
if they begrudged the short half-hour they give to Jesus
every week.
Many wait to attend the latest Mass, in order that they
may be more intimate and friendly with those who are
equally undevout and lazy. They let the priest go away,
or, perhaps better to say, they leave Jesus as if they had
taken no heed of His sacrifice; and, far from having any
feeling of devotion, they have deprived those who had, by
the distractions they have given them.
Flechier.
198
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67.— £Xn tfce $oIg <ZBucfmriiait a* a
©acrament
Father Faber, Pere Garnier, and St. Cyprian.
Verily, thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Saviour."
— Isaias xliv. 18.
THE Blessed Sacrament is a mystery of daily repetition,
of ordinary familiarity. We are coming across our Lord
continually. Either we are calling Him from heaven our-
selves, if we be priests ; or we are witnessing that unspeak-
able mystery ; or we are feeding on Him and seeing our
fellow-creatures do so also; or we are gazing at Him in
His veils, or receiving His benedictions, or making our
devotions at His tabernacle door.
Yet what is our habitual behaviour to Him in this
mystery? We are orthodox in faith, doubtless; every
word of that queen of councils, the blessed and glorious
assembly of Trent, is more precious to us than a mine of
gold. But have the intensity of our love, the breathless-
ness of our reverence, the earnestness of our prayers, the
overbearing momentum of our faith, the speechlessness of
our yearning desires been all they should have been, or
half they would have been, if we had but corresponded
to the grace which He himself each time was giving us?
There is no sign of lukewarmness more unerring than
becoming thoughtless about the Blessed Sacrament, and
letting it grow common to us without our feeling it. Even
though the disciples on the road to Emmaus did not know
THE HOLY EUCHARIST AS A SACRAMENT.
199
Jesus till He vanished from their sight, at least their hearts,
they knew not why, burned within them as they walked
and talked to Him by the way. Yet how often have we
been at the tabernacle door, feeling neither His presence
nor our own miseries, more than a beggar sleeping in the
sun at a rich man's gate ?
True it is that the Blessed Sacrament is not a mystery
of distance or of terror, but one of most dear familiarity.
Yet the only true test of our loving familiarity is the depth
of our joyous fear.
• ••••••
Yet, alasl whenever we read or hear of some of the
great things concerning the Blessed Sacrament, does it
not often flash upon us that our conduct is not in keeping
with our creed ; and, looking back on a long sad line of
indifferent communions, distracted masses, and careless
visits to the tabernacle, are we not sometimes startled into
saying, Do I really believe all this ?
How many of us might simplify our spiritual lives, and
so make great progress, if we would only look to the
Blessed Sacrament, to our feelings and conduct towards
it, and its impression upon us, as the index of our spiritual
condition ? We are always trying to awaken ourselves
with new things, new books, new prayers, new confrater-
nities, nefr states of prayer; and our forbearing Lord runs
after us and keeps blessing us in our changeableness, and
humouring us in our fickle weakness. How much better
would it be to keep to our old things, to hold fast by Him,
and to warm ourselves only at the tabernacle fire !
Father Faber (Orat.)
Blessed Sacrament,
200
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[JOHN Garnier. — This renowned Jesuit professor of theology, was
born in Paris in 1612, and died at Bologna in 1681, while on his
journey to Rome, whither he had been summoned to wait on the
Superior General of the Order. He was a true servant of God, full of
piety and knowledge. His published works, testify to his being a man
of superior attainment.]
Moses, desirous of making the Israelites understand how
great was the happiness they possessed in being the chosen
people of God, said to them : There never was a nation,
however illustrious it may have been, who had gods so
communicative, as is our God, who communicates Himself
to us.
What shall we say to Christians when their loving and
all-merciful God, not content with dwelling amongst us in
our churches and visiting us in our homes, but has further
willed to dwell in the interior of our souls, and to repose in
our hearts as in a temple, where we can familiarly confer
with Him and expose all our wants ?
It was an incomparable joy for the Mother of God to
have carried Jesus in her bosom ; — has not the Christian
the happiness of carrying Him in his?
St. Elizabeth esteemed herself happy when the Mother
of God came to visit her, and the Lord himself is willing
to come and dwell in the interior of our souls ! Mary
Magdalen had the advantage of kissing His feet, and we
have the opportunity of embracing Him and of receiv-
ing His caresses! After that, what heart would not be
inflamed with love for a God who so familiarly communi-
cates with men? Ought not this induce us to offer to
Him our fervent prayers, our fondest love ?
Have we not indeed reason to reproach ourselves with
coldness and ingratitude, when we think of the wondrous
love which God has shown to men in this adorable sacra-
ment?
As this God of love gives Himself entire to us in the
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THE HOLY EUCHARIST AS A SACRAMENT. 201
Eucharist, we ought to give ourselves entirely to Him.
But, alas ! how very far we are from loving Him as He
has loved us in this divine mystery. He has loved us to
excess, He has loved us without reserve, He has given
Himself to us whole and entire, He has spared nothing to
show us -His love; nevertheless it is this same God whom
we love with so much coldness and with so much reserve.
We give Him as little of our heart as we possibly can,
and often give Him nothing at all ; although that would
not be a sin, still it would be indeed an act of a great
ingratitude and greater meanness.
The soul must be in an utter swoon, if it be not roused
and enlivened by the Holy Eucharist.
We do not expose those whom we encourage to fight
against persecution, or leave them devoid of help or even
unarmed; but we fortify them with the protection of the
Body and Blood of Christ, our Saviour. For is it not true
that the Holy Eucharist raises the faithful above themselves,
and from its efficacy, a worldly man becomes a heavenly
man.
Le Pere Garnier.
MSS. Sermon.
St. Cyprian.
From his Epistles.
202
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58.— £Dn tfje ©acrament of agatrimong*
" This is a great sacrament, but I speak in Christ and in the church."
— Ephbsians v. 3*.
[Francis Cordier for some years was a priest of the French Oratory.
This congregation he, however, abandoned in the year 1680, and died
in 1695. He has left behind him " The Manuel Chretien " and a Life
of the Carmelite Anne of the Angels. Both printed in Paris A.D.
1694.]
MARRIAGE may be said to be the nursery of mankind.
From that are drawn daily new plants, in place of others
which have withered and died away through length of
time. This is a metempsychosis full of mystery, but is
much more honourable and advantageous to mankind than
that which some philosophers have imagined, who would
revivify men from beasts and beasts from men.
Marriage shows that men are in some way immortal,
for a father dies without dying, for he lives again in his
son and in all his descendants. It is a fountain of life
which ever flows, and is never exhausted.
Death is an abyss in which all men are engulfed, as rivers
are lost in the ocean ; but because that spring may never
cease to flow, for one who dies, many are often brought to
Without marriage, death, which spares no one, whole
cities would be ruined, whole provinces would be desolate.
As nothing could check its violence, a century, and per-
Le Pere Cordier.
life.
THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY.
203
chance much less, would suffice to hurry all men to the
grave ; but God, who does not wish His work to perish
before the number of the elect is filled up, has made Him-
self the Patron and Protector of marriages, as He has
been the first Founder of them ; the same care He has taken
to preserve the world induced Him to take in hand the
marriages contracted therein, and which are the means of
maintaining it
That is the reason why the world is daily replenished
with inhabitants, why new cities and towns become popu-
lated, why states and kingdoms flourish.
Could He, I say, have found a more effectual method to
maintain and preserve so great a work ?
The strokes of death are continually at work, but do not
annihilate, because the fruitfulness of marriage wards off
every blow, and the grand design of God to refill heaven
with His elect is effected by this means. I call it the grand
design of God, because it is the climax of all others, and
to which all aspire and tend to, as lines do to the centre.
This grand design could not be carried out in the order
which God has willed to establish it without marriage, and
this is the reason why He has willed to be its Author since
the creation of the world.
Marriage is the first bond of everyday life; it is the
foundation and support of all human intercourse ; it is the
beginning of every union. Every one should acknowledge
it as the rock from which they have sprung. It is an agree-
ment as old as the world itself, and its Author is no other
than God.
The Gnostics, who have been the most shameless heretics
that hell has ever produced, have rejected it as a bad and
detestable thing; but when we read in the book of Genesis
that God was the Author of marriage, and when we read
in the New Testament that God the Son honoured it by
His presence, we should detest those infamous heretics
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who have disapproved of it. It was not the honour and
respect which they bore to the virtue of purity which made
them speak, but the license of libertinism, which prompted
them to keep as many women as they could seduce.
The Apostle's counsel to live single is not blaming or
condemning the marriage state; for that can only be con-
demned by persons who have not a just appreciation of
the works of God ; but to teach us that it is not obligatory,
and that we may increase in merit by renouncing one state
of life by embracing another still more perfect.
The Church, which is ever guided by the Holy Ghost in
all its ceremonies, retains a custom in all marriages which
teaches those who receive this sacrament, the affection that
they should have for each other. It directs the priest to
bless a ring, presenting it first to the husband in order that
by receiving it, he may encircle her in his heart and shut out
all other loves. Then he places it on the wife's hand, in order
that she may equally have no other affection for any man,
than the one God has given her for a husband. This ring is
a seal which should have a double intent on the hearts of
the married couple, the first being to preserve inviolate
sworn conjugal love, the second is not to allow an entry
for any strange love.
Confidence is the result of a tried fidelity and a constant
esteem. If this be necessary for all who are engaged in
any kind of commerce whatsoever, what partnership can be
more complete than marriage ?
Concord, says St. Chrysostom, constitutes the maximum
of the happiness and blessing of a married life ; and if the
husband can place his entire confidence in a good and
virtuous wife, they will be as one body, one flesh.
Le Pere Cordier,
Selections from " La Sainte Famt'IIe.
THE WORLD AND ITS DANGERS.
205
59.— £Dn t&e (CHarto anH tttf Dangers
WONDROUS thing ! the world is full of trouble, and we do
not tire of loving it ! What would it be were it always
quiet ? You attach yourself to this world, deformed and
ugly as it is ; what would it be were it always agreeable ?
You draw away your hand from the thorns of this world,
what would it be if you had but to gather flowers?
Take care, the wind is violent, the tempest is terrible ;
each one has his own danger, for each one is tossed about
with his own passions. Would you wish to know how to
save yourself from this tempestuous sea ? Love God, and
you will walk upon its waters; you will tread under foot
the pride of the world, and you will be saved. On the
contrary, if you love the world you will be engulfed, for
the world knows only how to shipwreck a soul, it knows
not, how to save it.
Would you know what happened to the great St. Bene-
dict when he was in an ecstasy of prayer ? He felt himself
raised above himself; the heavens opened, and from an
exterior darkness there came a kind of wondrous light,
and the world was mirrored before him, and he, by divine
St. Augustine, Flechier, and
Pere Croiset.
If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him."
— JOHNii. 15.
St. Augustine.
Sermons lxxvi. and cviii.
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permission, was allowed to view the world, and it showed
him at a glance, the nothingness and deformity of all
human things.
Whether God had narrowed within the ray both heaven
and earth, or whether He had enlarged his heart and mind,
says St. Gregory, he sees revolutions and vicissitudes here
below, creatures forced against their will to feed on vanity,
and all the universe subjected to the covetousness of men.
He sees, under cover of this celestial light, those grandeurs
which are esteemed so highly, gradually decrease ; he sees
ambition, which takes so firm a hold on man, sink and
fade away ; that universal hypocrisy of the age, which
elevates vice and makes virtue look contemptible, — where
counterfeit miseries are cherished, where wretched pleasures
are sought after. He sees a crowd of frivolous desires,
hopes ill-founded, unjust hatreds, irregulated loves; he
sees the wanton extravagance of our pleasures, the inuti-
lity of our occupations, the instability of our fortunes, the
emptiness of our wishes, the littleness of our interests.
Ah ! how mean and contemptible did the world appear to
him ! No wonder that he despised it, and retired from it
for evermore.
Pleasure is a feeling of joy, which dwells in the soul
during the existence of a blessing which is acknowledged
as such.
Now this pleasure is only perfect so long as the blessing
which causes it is sustained. An imaginary blessing could
not know a real pleasure; its enchantments vanish in time,
its illusions are soon dispelled ; when the gratification of a
blessing is deadened or exhausted, the mind and heart
feel a void, and reason discovers, sooner or later, the
depths of its nothingness, and at last bitter is the bitter-
ly ABBfe FLfiCHIER.
Panegyric of St. Benedict
THE WORLD AND ITS DANGERS.
207
ness where passion anticipates, but does not realise so
much pleasure.
From that proceed those involuntary anxieties and
vexations which all the joys of the world, however harm-
less, cannot drive away. From that arise those adversities,
those little crosses, which put the most good-humoured
out of temper, and which makes them say with truth, that
worldly happiness is a myth.
As God alone can fill our heart, it is He who can satisfy
our desires. Other objects amuse for a while, but they
make our consciences uneasy, and, finally, they weary and
disgust
God alone can satisfy a soul, calm its anxieties, its
suspicions, its fears, and every trouble that stirs within
our hearts. Whenever I tried to fill up the aching void in
my heart, said St. Augustine, I found that nothing equalled
the happiness I felt, in trying to do my duty in serving
God.
What are the miseries which worldlings have to endure ?
Alas ! everything seems to conspire to make them groan
without being allowed to complain. Continuous and
fatiguing cares, inseparable from their state of life ; ambi-
tion, jealousy, self-interest, inexhaustible anxieties; the
uneasiness of a busy life, the fears of failure, the varied
tempers of those in their employ — all of whom must be
humoured — a hundred vexing accidents they are liable to,
and which can rarely be prevented, the bad weather which
they cannot avoid, a station of life which must at all risks
be kept up, worry of competition, the malice of the envious,
a heart ever agitated, an uneasy mind and conscience.
What ! Does it require all these things to make a man
unhappy ? All such as these are, nevertheless, to be found
united in the men who battle with the world.
PERE CROISET, S.J.
ReJUxions Spiritucllts .
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60.— tfte motlfi anD it* 90arim&
St. Ambrose and Massillon.
" All that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of
the eyes, and the pride of life." — John i. 16.
[St. Ambrose. — This great saint and doctor of the Church was born
about the year 340, and died on the eve of Easter-day in 397, aged
fifty-seven. After the death of Auxence, Bishop of Milan, Ambrose
was unanimously elected to succeed him, and this choice was con-
firmed by the Emperor Valentinian. At that time Ambrose was a
catechumen, but after baptism he was ordained on December 17, 374.
The writings of this glorious saint have this advantage, that they
please and instruct at the same time. They are as majestic and
forcible, as they are full of divine unction. An edition of his works
was published by the Benedictines of the Congregation of St. Maur in
the years 1686 and 1670.
The Te Deum laudamus is attributed to him, though some say that
it is the united composition of SS. Ambrose and Augustine. The
name, however, of Hymnus Ambrosianus seems to be a proof that he
alone was the author.
For particulars of his life, see Butler's " Lives of the Saints," Godes-
card and Giry.]
THE world which encompasses us is full of snares. One
cannot dwell in it even for a short time without danger.
You open your eyes, and the guard you thought you had
over self is dispelled ; you lend your ear to public discus-
sions, and your attachment to party spirit breaks out ; you
walk in places strewn with flower-beds and flowers, and
your thoughts wander on joys, &c. ; you taste delicacies
which are offered to you, and the poison of sensuality is
THE WORLD AND ITS MAXIMS.
209
hid therein ; you extend your hand, and it is enough to
cause an embrace.
Ah! who can walk with a firm unshaken step in the
midst of the passions of the world, amidst its seductive
charms ? Let us then think and meditate on the words of
Job, " The life of man on earth is a continual warfare."
What, then, is this reprobate world, which you are obliged
to hate from the time that you were regenerated by grace,
and which you ought to continue to hate all your life?
For you the bright side is uppermost, and I have simply
to say it is that, that you love.
The world, it is that raging sea, on which are tossed to
and fro vessels containing a crowd of sinners, whose cares
and projects depend on the fortunes or misfortunes of life ;
whose aim seems to be to build palaces on sand ; whose
hopes are fixed on the fleeting enjoyments of this life, who
seek for joys and pleasures, which are a thousand times
more fatiguing than they are worth.
The world is a monstrous assemblage of party spirits
who revile each other, and regard each other with con-
tempt, envy, and jealousy, void of honour and fair dealing.
The world is a temporal kingdom which knows not Jesus
Christ, where He himself declares that He is not, and for
which He does not wish to pray. The world is that mass
of wicked men and impious libertines, who refuse to believe
in the truths of the gospel, because they wage war with
their vices, because they confute the Saviour's maxims,
despise His mysteries, ignore His precepts, and profane
His sacraments. In short, the world is the majority who
follow its maxims.
It is this world which you have to hate in your baptism,
and which you are taught to confute, condemn, and wage
war against.
St. Ambrose.
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This world, then, is the enemy of the cross, and of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, and ought therefore to be with you,
an object of horror, and which you ought to sacrifice to the
interests of your salvation.
The first use we make of our free-will, is the choice of
dangerous pleasures ; the first temptation is, that of our
passions, and our reason believes only on the wreck of our
innocence. All the land is infected through the wicked-
ness of those who dwell on it. One no longer sees, says a
prophet, the existence of truth or charity; mercy is not
there, and the knowledge of God is uncared for ; all have
overthrown the obstacles which preserved their innocence
in their hearts.
Blasphemy, lying, injustice, adultery, homicide, perfidy,
and other horrible crimes, have inundated the land, says
a prophet ; blood has tasted blood, the father scandalises
his child, the brother lays snares for his brother, and the
husband seeks for a divorce.
Among men there are no ties but self-interest, passion,
ill-humour, and caprice. Crime is common among the
noble and great, virtue is only meant for the simple-
minded ; piety is the lot of few ; hatreds are eternal, and
an enemy is never looked upon as a brother.
Thence arise those resentments one against another;
the purest virtue is not safe from slander; lawsuits and
vexatious actions, and the meetings of friends and rela-
tions, are no longer public censures on public morals.
Gambling of every kind, has become either shameful
trafficking in shares, or that blind infatuation which often
ends in the ruin of families, and almost always causes the
loss of the immortal soul.
Those innocent bonds of society, family meetings, are
now only attractions for the indulgence of intemperance.
Balls, theatres, music-halls, have become schools of im-
purity, and the present age is so refined in luxury that the
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THE WORLD AND ITS MAXIMS.
211
carrying on shameful intrigues soon soil the soul, and of
which our forefathers were not conscious.
The city, a sinful Ninive, where all follow the bent of
their inclinations ; the court is the centre of vice ; the whole
country, a frightful desert, where men, like so many wild
beasts, tear and bite each other, and where hatred, envy,
and ealousy are paramount.
What do I say ? nothing but disorder and confusion are
in the world.
Massillon.
On the Small Number of the Elect.
• ••••••
The world is more dangerous when it flatters us, than
when it ill-treats us ; we should be more careful of trusting
it, when it invites us to love it, than when it admonishes
us, and compels us to despise it.
The chains that bind us to the world, are pleasing to
look at, but hard to bear ; the harm they inflict is certain,
the pleasure they promise very doubtful. Those who
wear them are ever busy, but never exempt from dread.
They who follow the maxims of the world, experience
nothing but misery, and the flattering expectation of
happiness is delusive and vain.
Would you wish not to be an enemy of God ? Do not
be a friend of the world.
St. Augustine.
Epistles.
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61.— £Dn tfje auorto anH tt0 duties*
St. Chrysostom and Pere Texier.
' Fear God and keep His commandments ; for this is all man."
— Eccles. xil 13.
There are still even now, through the mercy of God,
many persons who live a Christian-like life, who keep
God's commandments, and who do not wilfully fail in any
one of their duties ; and if you do not know this, I am not
astonished at it, since Elias thought that he was left alone
when God said to him, " I have left me seven thousand
men, that have not bowed their knees to Baal."
This example ought to convince us that there are still
some amongst us, who keep themselves unspotted from the
world, and who imitate the early Christians.
As for you, my brothers, if you have not as yet reached
to that pitch of perfection, begin at least with the wish to
aspire to perfection, cut off all inclination to do evil, resist
the torrent of example, and do not think of doing any
good, unless you set to work in a right and lawful way.
We see that St. John the Baptist at first recommends
the publicans and soldiers to be content with their pay.
His zeal would have willingly led him to raise them to a
high degree of perfection ; but they, not being fit for much,
he contented himself with giving them this simple advice,
for fear that, by proposing something higher, they would
not have been able to attain to a lower degree of perfec-
tion, much less to that height of virtue of which they were
not capable.
It is thus that in the world there are different degrees of
virtue; as among those who are consecrated to the service
of God, in the religious state, there are novices, others more
THE WORLD AND ITS DUTIES.
213
advanced, and others who reach to an eminent degree of
sanctity.
St. Chrysostom.
Homily on the Sixth Chapter of St, Matthew,
• • • • • • •
You are married; Moses was. married too. What, then,
should prevent you from retiring every day, as he did, to
confer with Almighty God on the important affair of your
salvation, and to pray for His grace ? You have children ;
the mother of the Machabees had seven of them, and that
did not prevent her from being holy, and, when called
upon, preferred the love of God to that of her offspring.
You are noble, and are required to keep up a certain
splendour in the world. David, Joshua, and Ezechias
were no less noble; the government of states, and the
guidance of underlings, did not hinder them from con-
tinually consulting God through prayer ; they kept them-
selves humble in the midst of their grandeur, and they
resided with their court, without being infected by its vices.
You are a judge y that obliges you to practise virtue so
much the more. That was just the case with the match-
less Samuel. Follow his example, and on your bench
you will be reproachless, and your position will afford
opportunities of practising the most heroic virtues. You
are rich; Abraham perhaps was richer than you are.
Well, like him, be the father of orphans, the entertainer of
strangers, the defender and feeder of the needy, and your
riches will help you to become a great saint.
You are poor, and your poverty brings on you illnesses
and cares. Look at poor Lazarus, his poverty sanctified
him, and he is placed on Abraham's bosom. You are a
workman, and you are compelled to toil all the day, and
part of the night, to support your family. St. Joseph, the
glorious husband of Mary, was he not a workman ? and,
in the exercise of his trade, through his incomparable
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virtues, is now one of the highest saints in heaven. You
have joined the army; call to mind that brave officer, of
whom the Gospel speaks, who went to war as you do ; and
nevertheless you see that he was so full of faith, zeal, and
charity, that the Son of God admired him and appeared to
be surprised.
The inference that St Chrysostom draws from this, is, to
prove that, in whatever condition we may be, we can always
observe the law of God.
God has given to all states and professions of life, a help
and steady support when He promulgated His law. Keep
this law in your heart, and it will strengthen your steps,
however slippery may be the path through which you
walk : Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsius, et non supplantabuntur
gressus ejus. Amidst the worry of a family, the cares of
business, and even the trouble and danger of war, the
inviolate love of that law will keep your heart in peace,
and there will be no scandal which can stop you : Pax
multa diligentibus legem tuarn, et non est illis scandalum.
Would you live piously in your state of life ? When you
see the trickery and deceit that are practised in high
places, the corruption so common in law courts, the usual
trickeries in trade, exclaim with David : " Withdraw from
me all those, that work iniquity."
The Son of God, who is the Supreme Judge, elevates
the vilest conditions in His own supernatural way, and
gives to all a sufficiency of sanctification. Thus, whether
you are a gentleman, a judge, soldier, merchant, or work-
man, you are something more than all these, since you
are a Christian, and that is the foremost and noblest of
your qualities.
This is what Tertullian has said : It matters little what
you may be or what profession you exercise, since, if you
are a Christian, you are no longer of this world.
Le Perk Texier.
Lenten Discount.
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THE WORLD, ITS HONOURS AND DIGNITIES. 215
62.— flDn t&e pioriU, it* honour* anH
Dignities
The great and noble have to breathe an atmosphere of
sensuality. Born and bred in idleness and effeminacy,
they nourish within, a hidden fire for all kinds of food
which only feeds an ever-increasing appetite.
The world does not outwardly exhibit its attractions to
the great, it simply offers them to their desires, and delivers
them over to their own keeping, so to speak, despoiled of
all the difficulties which repulse and frighten others.
There are few, doubtless, who have not sometimes
cherished the passions of avarice, vengeance, or ambition ;
these passions blind those who possess them. Now, before
a person who has no influence or power, with but little
money or property, could find the means to gratify his
passions, the danger he would have to encounter, the pre-
cautions he would have to take, all these in time, will open
his eyes, and calm the agitated heart. On the other hand,
a powerful and rich noble, who, having within his reach all
that can satisfy his wishes, has no sooner conceived a base
design than he puts it into execution, finding everything in
readiness for him.
But what ! must those who are in high places and have
Pere de la Colombiere and
St. Gregory.
«<
A most severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule."
—Wisdom vL 6.
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plenty to spare, should they despair of their salvation?
Certainly not ; but they must work with fear and persever-
ance ; they must, by fervent and constant prayer, try to
draw down from heaven, that immense help which they
stand so much in need of, in order to avoid the snares
which surround them, and, by the frequentation of the
sacraments, they may never cease to fortify themselves
against the attacks of such formidable enemies.
Moreover, the noble are necessarily compelled, as they
often are, to be richly dressed, to live in grand houses,
expected to give luxurious dinners, to take part in the
vain pleasures of worldlings ; they should, I say, situated
as they are, take especial care not to go beyond the mark
that necessity and custom require.
When you act in this way, you will be able to say, that
if you run any risk, that it is the providence of God which
has placed you in the position in which you are in, and
that it is through the goodness of God, that you have been
able to avoid its dangers.
Yes, the high and mighty should anticipate a more rigor-
ous punishment than ordinary mortals. Fortioribus autem
fortior instat cruciatio, says the Book of Wisdom (vi. 9),
which is, "A greater punishment is ready for the more
mighty."
Why ? In the first place, on account of their ingratitude
to God, who has loaded them with temporal blessings,
which He has kept back from the rest of mankind ; for
not having found in them that thanksgiving which such
blessings well deserved. Secondly, they will suffer much
more than those, who have endured misery during this life,
because those who have so suffered have, by the hardships
they have patiently endured, expiated the greater part
of their sins ; whilst the rich and noble, who have always
lived in luxury and plenty, not having paid any debt of
justice to a merciful God, will find themselves accountable
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THE WORLD, ITS HONOURS AND DIGNITIES. 217
and indebted for everything. In the third place, as there
is nothing to hinder them from following the bent of their
vicious inclinations, they the more easily and the more
readily fall into sin, consequently the quality and quantity
of their transgressions, will far exceed those committed by
persons in the middle class of life.
In addition to that, they will not only be accountable for
their own sins, but they will be answerable for those com-
mitted by others, whether it may be from their neglect of
those under their care, or whether by their pernicious
example they may have introduced, encouraged or autho-
rised habits of vanity and vice.
But consider what thrones and mansions will not God
prepare for those who, by the practice of heroic virtues,
sustain and even increase their merit in the midst of a
corrupt court ! What praises will not He reserve, for those
who have practised humility in the midst of honours and
dignities, a spirit of poverty in places where riches abound,
an aversion for pleasure where pleasure is ever sought for,
an inviolate purity in an infected atmosphere, in a world
which is full of tempting snares, a persecuting world, a
world which sneers at virtue, and, in a word, which glories
in incontinency.
The honours paid to the wicked only hasten their ruin.
The power of the wicked is likened, in Holy Scripture,
to the flowers of the field ; because no sooner does worldly
splendour outshine other lights than it fades and perishes,
no sooner has it reached its height, than down it falls.
Le Pere de la Colombiere, S.J.
St. Gregory.
Moral VI L
220 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
selves to prolong a life which must soon end ; and they
wish to do nothing to avoid sin, that is to say, to lose a
life whose nature is immortal.
What do I say ? not wish to prevent the loss of his soul !
„ Alas ! the number of these madmen is incalculable, who
sharpen the sword that gives the death-blow to their souls.
Who will give me the feelings of the saints, as well as their
words! I hear a St. Cyprian exclaim indignantly: What!
if the news of the death of a parent or dear friend reached
you, you would weep and sigh bitterly, you would out-
wardly manifest your grief. O hard-hearted sinner, I tell
you from God, that that slander, that black calumny, that
infamous deed has killed your soul, and you appear to
think nothing of it.
[William Francis Berthier was born at Issondun, in Berry, on
the 7th of April 1704. In 1722 he joined the Society of Jesus, and
distinguished himself as a virtuous and learned ecclesiastic. Towards
the end of 1762, he accepted the appointment of Keeper of the Royal
Library ; he also assisted in the education of the unfortunate Louis
XVI. Two years after this, he withdrew from public life and devoted
the remainder of his days to study and to his religious duties. He
died at Bourges on the 15th of December 1782.]
If the Almighty had never visibly punished the enemies
of the faith, men might have imagined that God was
indifferent to what was going on in the world ; and if God
should punish every sinner, during their lifetime, one
might have thought that the effect of divine justice exer-
cised here below, would lead to the belief, that there was
no future state, and all would be annihilated, according as
the human race disappears.
What God has done at different times against the wicked,
Le Pere Texier.
Lenten Sermon.
ON MORTAL SIN.
221
is the testimony of what He will do, some day, against all
those who have so abused His patience.
If the sinner wishes to ponder on his condition, let him
recall to mind Sennacherib, Pharaoh, Antiochus, and many
others who have been strupk by God's all-powerful arm.
History does not tell us of how many more, perhaps much
more guilty, who have finished their career in an awful
manner ; but divine justice is ever the same, and if it has
been delayed during life, it has overtaken them when they
have ceased to breathe.
Reason is here in accordance with religion. The words
of the prophet against Sennacherib is a divine oracle, but
a revelation of light is sufficient to discover this truth.
Oh, unjust man ! oh, thou who sheddest the blood of thy
equals ! thou shalt one day be crushed with the weight of
thine iniquity ; thou layest waste to all the land, and thou
in thy turn, shalt be laid low; thou despiseth all laws, and
thou, in thy turn, shalt be covered with confusion.
Look at the havoc which hail and storm spread around
our gardens and orchards; look at the rot fast spreading
amongst the cattle ; look at the winds and hurricane which
toss the ships at sea. This is only but a feeble image of
the ravages of sin in a soul.
Mortal sin destroys the merits of good works, corrupts
every faculty of the mind, and leads tne sinner on to
certain death.
Le Pere Berthier.
On Isaiah.
St. Cyprian.
DeLapsis, V.
223 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
64— flDn tlemal ©im
PERE DE LA COLOMBIERE and SEGNERI, SJ
11 He that is unjust in that which is little, is unjust also in that which is greater."
— Luke xvi. ia
The same God who is offended with mortal sin — a God
infinitely great and loving, the God to whom we are indebted
for everything, and who has so often prevented us from
falling into mortal sin — this same God, I say, is offended
by venial sin.
It is true, that it may be a trifling fault, but this self-
same venial sin, becomes in a way infinite, when it is
committed against infinite goodness and majesty.
I know full well, that the faults which a subject can
commit against his king are not always equally bad, but it is
certain, that he will not overlook faults however trifling they
may be. To make an attempt upon his life would, I grant,
be the blackest of crimes, but to injure him purposely, by
word or intention, would deserve a severe punishment.
We should call that child an unnatural monster, who
would kill his own father ; but he who has cherished the
thought of injuring him, or of raising his hand against him,
would he not be held in abhorrence by all the world ?
O my God ! how blind we are ! These examples make
us shudder, but we are not moved, when we look into our
own consciences, and try to persuade ourselves that we are
not so bad as they.
Let me, O Lord, constantly meditate on those parables,
which represent to us Your blessings, and Your Majesty.
Digitized by
ON VENIAL SIN.
223
What is a king, what is the greatest monarch on the
earth, in comparison with Thee, my God ?
Every one knows, that when one gives way to any bad
habit, it becomes daily more and more difficult to over-
come, and that at last it quite gains the upper hand.
It is in this way, that all the most wicked of men, are
lost, — not one of them ever commencing with a great
crime. It is certain that if they attended to the first
twinge of their conscience, they might still have been
innocent ; but when once they have paid no attention to
inward warnings, it becomes morally impossible to arrest
its downward progress.
This is the way the devil, who would not be satisfied if
he did not deprive the sinner of the grace of God, never
tempts him to begin by the commission of a grievous
offence at first
He is content, if he can feed the vanity of that young
girl by inspiring her with a love of dress, and displaying
the last new fashions, because he knows well, she will not
fail to go further, and even without his interference, she
will at last come to a bad end.
A person who simply wishes to abstain from mortal
sin has not a very great desire to avoid it.
It is an idle fancy to suppose, that that plan of life
which never fails to attend to great essential things with-
out taking the trouble of taking precaution to avoid lesser
evils, can be sufficient to ensure perseverance in the love of
God. However venial my sins may appear to me, O Lord,
they are attached to Thee — although they do not kill my
soul. I am always in want of Thy Precious Blood to
avert Thy justice, and they will never be remitted, unless
a just proportion be kept between the evil and the remedy,
the satisfaction and the injury. It is true that a sprinkling
of holy water, taken with a feeling of true devotion, is
sufficient to wash away the stains; that an alms distributed
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224
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to the poor can, in the sight of God, discharge many a
small debt ; that a fervent prayer can obtain a cure of my
sins, and all that are called sacramental remedies, can help
to staunch my wounds; but all-sufficient as these remedies
may be, they would be inefficacious if they are not mingled
with the wounds of our Saviour and supported by His
merits.
It is necessary that that drop of holy water should be
mingled with the tears He has shed over our miseries ; that
that alms should be united to the immense love, which
led Him to shed His blood for our redemption, as says
the Apostle; that that prayer be in union with those He
addressed to His Father in our favour.
Rev. Pere de la Colombiere.
• ••••••
I acknowledge, O my God, that it is only by a constant
and wearisome practice of little duties, that I can prove,
exercise, and fortify my virtue for great occasions. I will
henceforth be faithful to Thee in little things. It is only
thus, that I can store up a treasure of merits for heaven.
What should I do ? What could I suffer for you, 0
Lord, if I waited for great opportunities ?
Alas ! fatal experience has taught me but too often, that
the lightest venial fault, diminishes the horror of sin ; that
it strengthens in my soul, an attachment to evil ; that it is
easy to fall when venial sins are disregarded.
Father Segnerl
Meditations.
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ON HABITUAL SIN.
225
65.— 5>airitual ©in*
St. Augustine, Pere Biroat,
and St. Bernard.
" Isay unto you, that whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin."
— John viii. 34.
You tell me, that it is useless for me to try, for my bad
habit has too strong a hold upon me ; but I say, Watch
over yourself, and you will soon be corrected. The more
inveterate the habit is, the more it deserves your attention.
The tongue is a very quick and dangerous member, be
then more attentive to restrain its volubility. If you try
to-day, it will be easier to restrain it to-morrow. If your
victory is not complete to-morrow, you will find that, by
the efforts you made yesterday, your task is less difficult
Vice expires in three days. We shall soon reap the fruit,
and rejoice at the great advantage we have gained, by
being delivered from so sad an evil.
I know full well, that it is difficult to break off a sinful
habit, for I have myself experienced it, but, through the
holy fear of God, I have conquered the habit of swearing.
When I read and meditated on His law, I was seized
with fear; I fought manfully against my bad habit; I
invoked the Lord in whom I trusted, and He gave me
the aid I prayed for, and soon nothing appeared to me,
more easy, than to refrain from swearing.
St. Augustine.
Serm. 307.
P
226 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
When we begin to offend Almighty God, when the sin
has not taken deep root, we can easily tear it out, just as
it would happen to newly-planted trees. But when the
earth has nourished its roots, little by little, they grow
gradually and insensibly, they multiply their branches,
they spread quickly, and become so deeply rooted that
nothing but a tempestuous wind can break the tree or
root it up.
Ah ! such is the frightful state of the sinner. At the
beginning, conversion is easy, his inclinations for evil, his
attachment to sins, are not so strong, nor so numerous,
nor so rooted within ; but after years of continuous perse-
verance, his affection for sin is increased, his longings are
multiplied, and his attachments become rooted. And
nothing but the mighty stroke of God's all-powerful arm,
can break his stony heart.
I could not better explain the difficulty of correcting
habitual sin, or rather its moral impossibility, than by
quoting the expressions of two Fathers of the Church, who
make use of sentences, which at first sight appear to be
contradictory, but on examination, they will both be found
to be true.
The first is, St. Augustine, who says that habitual sin
is a second nature, which man has created, and fostered,
within himself, and that he has added it to the first which
he had : Consiietudo quasi secunda et affabricata natura.
St. Ambrose says, on the contrary, that it is the habit
which changes and excludes nature : An ignoratis quantum
vim habeat consuetudo peccandi, ut excudat naturatn.
Let us see how we can reconcile these two axioms.
When St. Ambrose says, that habitual sin excludes
nature, he means that nature which had at first good
dispositions, and which was not as yet corrupted by a
multitude of sins; and when St. Augustine says that habit
is a second nature, he intends to speak of that corrupted
Digitized by
ON HABITUAL SIN.
227
nature, that terrible inclination to do ill, after we have
lived for years, under the dominion of sin.
We have here a twofold difficulty — the difficulty of
overcoming our first nature, which is so prone to evil,
and that of the second nature, contracted by persever-
ance in sin.
This is what St. Augustine teaches. Ah, glorious saint !
how well you knew, by experience, of those ill-regulated
passions. When you say of yourself that you groaned in
the midst of your bondage, Suspirabam ligatis non ferro
alieno, sed mea ferrea voluntate% — I sighed in the midst of
my passions, not under chains unknown, but in the fetters
of those of my own forging. The devil actually kept my
will fastened down, he had manufactured from my habitual
sin, a chain to bind me, to retain me in his tyrannic power.
From this commenced my misery, my helplessness; in
giving way to my passions I had contracted a bad habit,
and this sinful habit, passed to a second nature, and has
reduced me to a dire necessity of adding sin to sin, and I
felt that I had no power to throw off the chain.
Habitual sin may be justly called the highest point of
sin, since it causes the loss of the fear of God, and begets
a contempt for His holy law. A sinful act, often reiterated,
becomes a habit, habit engenders necessity, necessity be-
comes impossibility, impossibility is the mother of despair,
and despair finishes its work, and seals its own damnation.
Pere Biroat.
Lenten Discourse
St. Bernard.
I Consideraiio.
228
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
66.— flDn Dccajstonjff of ©im
Massillon and Bossuet.
«' And such of them as shall flee, shall escape."
— Ezechikl viL id.
It is a delusion to fancy that an occasion is necessary,
when it is purely voluntary.
What is more usual, in the world, than to make excuses
for a pretended necessity, merely because every one con-
siders it to be the right sort of thing to do, and because
self-love prompts us, to acquiesce in any imaginary en-
gagement ?
I am, says one, in a position of life, such as rank or
station, which renders it impossible for me to avoid seeing
or being seen, paying or receiving visits ; how, then, should
I occupy my time ?
I am, says another, in an office, in a post of great re-
sponsibility, and it is really necessary for me to enter into
particulars, however hazardous they may be for my salva-
tion, however dangerous they may be for the purity of my
conscience.
I grant all this. You must appear in society, you should
have recreations, and ought not to be prevented from
mixing in company. But is there not something over and
above these amenities and rules ? If your rank, condition, i
or position in the world should compel you to pay visits,
however honourable or decorous they may be, what neces-
sity is there for prolonging such visits ? Why receive at
your house people of all ages of different sexes? Why j
engage in every party of pleasure, promenade, or play? It
is, that you wish to shine above others, to show yourself
OCCASIONS OF SIN.
229
off on every occasion, and thus you make amusement the
chief occupation of your life.
What necessity is there, that if you must belong to a
club or society, you should select the one most scandalous
and worldly, one which only flatters vanity and engenders
effeminacy ? Why, of all theatres, you should select those
where the most sensual exhibitions are given ? What
necessity is there, that you should always be in the com-
pany of those, whom you wish to please or who please you ?
What necessity is there, for encouraging the acquaintance
of dissolute libertines, who unfortunately know no better,
and are only capable of persuading you to join them in
their evil course of life ?
Would you wish to be shown the danger in which you
are in, and the consequent misery which must result from
these proximate occasions of sin ?
They are only vain terrors, say you, which a confessor
or director would wish to depict.
What ! you do not call those clandestine interviews, un-
known even to father or mother, a proximate occasion of
sin ? Those appointed meetings when the passions are so
violent, and virtue is so weak, that it yields at last to the
tempter ? You do not call those free and easy conversa-
tions, a proximate occasion of sin, where intrigues are
openly discussed, where the heart, more than the mouth,
suggests many an expression capable of poisoning every
sense of right ? You do not call that an occasion of sin,
when you write and receive letters wherein the heart is
freely opened ? You do not call that a proximate occa-
sion of sin, that secret intercourse with a creature, and you
do not deem it to be a guilty occasion to remain under the
same roof with the object of your passionate love ? You
are deceived : Exite de medio eorutn, et separamini, dicit
Dotninus. Withdraw from them and separate.
Separation, divorce ; an entire separation, an imme-
2$o HALF -HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
diate divorce; leave the guilty object, and withdraw from
him.
If you do not do this, you break the commandment of
God and complete your condemnation.
Massillon.
From a Sermon on this Subject.
[Jaques Benigne Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux, is one of the greatest
pulpit orators that France has produced. Although many eloquent
preachers have succeeded him, none have excelled him. Besides his
sermons and magnificent funeral orations, he has written many volumes,
which will always be read with interest The best edition of his works
is the one published by Lebel, in forty-three volumes 8vo, 1813.
Bossuet was born at Dijon in 1627. After his first studies, he went to
Paris in 1642, at the early age of fifteen, and ten years afterwards was
vested with the doctor's cap at Sorbonne. Anne of Austria, the then
Queen-Regent, gave him the post of chief almoner, and induced him
to accept of the bishopric of Meaux in 1681. He died at the palace
of his diocese in 1 704, aged seventy-seven.]
You inwardly reproach me, O Lord, for having, like
unto St. Peter, rashly exposed myself to danger, notwith-
standing Your threats and prohibition, and notwithstanding
the proper sense I should have had of my own weakness,
with which You have often been willing to inspire me.
Relying on my own strength, I foolishly thought that
those interviews, those occasions which have so often
proved to be fatal, would not have injured me. I con-
tinued to associate with companions who were corrupt,
slanderous, and impious, and I fancied that I could throw
myself into flames without being burned.
Now, O my Saviour, I will follow the example of St.
Peter, and will fly, cost what it may, from the dangerous
society of those who sought my ruin ; I will avoid every
occasion of sin, and will weep bitterly for my poor soul,
my tarnished innocence.
Bossuet.
Digitized by
ON FREQUENT RELAPSES.
67.— flDn .frequent Rzlapm.
BOURDALOUE.
"And the state of that man, is made worse than the first." — Matthew xii. 45.
The chief misfortune that accompanies a relapse, is to
withdraw God from us and to exhaust, as it were, His
mercy, which although infinite in itself, still cannot be
carried beyond bounds with regard to ourselves, and to
the distribution of those special graces, as also those extra-
ordinary helps on which our conversion depends.
" For three crimes of Damascus, and for four, I will not
convert it" (Amos i. 3).
For the three first crimes of Damascus, said the Lord,
through one of His prophets. The three first crimes, I have
endured them, and have willingly forgotten them, but for
the fourth, I shall not allow My justice and My anger to
be passed by — why that ? Because I was withdrawn from
those wicked ones, who had angered Me by their infidelities.
Besides, from the moment that God withdraws His help
— it is not to be wondered at, that penitence should be-
come difficult, and that this difficulty should increase in
proportion to the length of the withdrawal. Why ? Because
God alone can fill our hearts with the sense of His Divine
Presence, and by diffusing the unction of His Holy Spirit,
which can alone make our penances easy, and in the end
make us love Him.
Can you find a more beautiful illustration of this, than
that of the man so famed in the Old Testament, the in-
vincible Samson ? A guilty passion had blinded him ; but
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the blindness into which he had fallen, was not such
to deprive him of that strength, with which God had so
singularly and so miraculously endowed him. The stranger
to whom he was so attached, had frequently attempted,
by binding his limbs, to deliver him up to the Philistines;
but he had always found the means to break his bands
and recover his liberty. Hence he flattered himself that
he would always be able to free himself from her treachery,
and he said to himself: Egrediar sicut ante — I will go
forth, as I did before {Judges xvi.) At last, that per-
fidious woman so cleverly employs her fascinating ways,
that she cuts off that fatal hair, in which, by a secret
mystery, all his strength was centred. The news was
soon conveyed to the Philistines. They surround him
unawares, and fall upon him in great numbers. He wished
to be relieved, as he formerly had been, but he knew not
that God had withdrawn His help from him : Nesciens
quod recessisset ab eo Dominus — Not knowing that the
Lord was departed from him {Judges xvi.)
Here, my dear brethren, you have the picture of a soul
in that unhappy and miserable state, which usually suc-
ceeds to a wilful relapse into sin.
You will say on awaking from your deep sleep of in-
difference, and reflecting on your misery, you will say with
Samson : " I will go forth as I did before." I will break
my chains. I will make a vigorous effort, and I will
free myself from a guilty passion, which has so long
enchained me.
But you do not consider that God retires from you, and
that in proportion as He retires, you are deprived of His
aid ; that penance then becomes a heavy burden, an in-
supportable yoke; and, whereas heretofore, it was a source
of comfort to you, it now creates horror and disgust in
your mind ; for your frequent relapses have separated you
from God, and have placed an almost insurmountable
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ON FREQUENT RELAPSES.
233
barrier between you and your God : " Not knowing that
the Lord was departed from you."
In truth, is it credible, that a man should have had a
firm determination to renounce his sin, and then soon
afterwards, cowardly and unresistingly (his sin being always
before him) fall again into the same grievous sin ? Ah,
said St. Bernard, there is nothing stronger than our free-
will ; everything submits to it, everything obeys it. There
is no difficulty which it will not remove, no opposition
which it will not surmount, and what appeared otherwise
impossible, becomes easy, when undertaken in earnest.
Now, this is true, in a particular manner, with reference
to sin ; for however depraved we may have been after all,
we sin only, because we have the will to commit sin ; and
if we did not will to sin, it is indisputable, that we do not
commit sin. So that, in this way, our free-will preserves a
kind of sovereignty over itself, and participates in some
measure of the divine omnipotence, as, in what regards sin,
the will does only what it wishes to do, and that it has
simply to consent, in order to overcome the power of not
doing it I am then inclined to think, that in reality, it
has not the wish to resist, and renounce sin, when I see
plainly that the subsequent wish is to resist but feebly, and
in the end fails to renounce sin altogether.
This is the argument of St. Bernard, who cannot be
suspected of Pelagianism, since he always acknowledges
the efficacy of the grace of Jesus Christ, and is easily
reconciled with what St. Paul said of himself when he
complained, "that the evil which he would not, that he
did " — Sed quod nolo malum, hoc ego {Rom. vii.), because
by that, he understood and meant the involuntary motions
of his heart ; whereas St. Bernard speaks of the free
consent which is given to sin.
BOURDALOUE.
Dominical*.
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
68.— flDn jFmal impenitence.
Massillon, De la. Colombiere, S J.,
and St. Chrysostom.
"You shall seek me, and ye shall not find me, and you will die in your sins."
Vocavi et renuis t is ; ego autem in interitu vestro ribebo, et
subsannabo vos — I called and you rejected Me, I also in
My turn, will laugh you to scorn.
This is, at the same time, a reproach and a threat, which
God makes to sinners.
I have waited, says He to them, until the time you asked
Me for; I have permitted you to satiate those youthful
passions, which you alleged as an excuse ; I have allowed
the fire of your passions to die out ; I could have left you,
at the very moment you abandoned Me.
Nevertheless I pitied you, and took compassion on your
weakness. I delayed, and even tolerated, your long-con-
tinued neglect. I have even followed you to the last great
feast, as you requested Me to do. I hoped that you would
return to Me, that you would do something for your own
salvation, nevertheless you have not fulfilled your pro-
mises.
My preachers have spoken with all that zeal which My
glory and your salvation have inspired them ; the ministers
of penance have waited for you in the confessional; the
treasures of My grace, and those of My Church, have been
ever opened for sinners. In a word, I have waited for you
to work out My justice : Expectavi ut facer et judicium.
—John viL 34.
ON FINAL IMPENITENCE.
235
But what has been the result, what the success of My
patience ? Et ecce iniquitate — it has been iniquity.
One day of penance and years of sin; a confession hur-
riedly, slovenly made, and a thousand relapses during the
rest of your life — some trifling alms after a thousand injus-
tices : Et ecce iniquitas. You have despised My grace, My
warnings, My threats. " I also in my time will laugh you
to scorn."
That which keeps back the conversion of so many
sinners is, that they want to wait for their conversion, until
they are free from all hindrances, from businesses which
occupy their whole time. When I have settled that law-
suit, says one ; when I shall be free from all the cares of
my numerous engagements, says another; when I shall
have restored order and peace in my family, when I shall
have provided for my children, when I shall have put by
sufficient for the wants and comforts of my old age, then I
will think of being good and of doing penance. This is
how worldly people act. You wish to wait, in order that
you may be free from every obstacle, free from all temporal
anxieties.
Ah ! you deceive yourselves, blind sinners ; you will
never reach to that freedom of mind, to that disengage-
ment from everything ; for you will always be slaves of
habits which drag you down, and which will grow stronger
in you more and more.
Well, if you wish to emerge from the darkness in which
you are, do not delay one single moment when the voice of
God calls you.
Although you may be still attached to the good things
of this world, although you may cling to the corruptions
of the age, although you may be slaves of a vice which
tyrannises over you, listen to Jesus Christ, who speaks to
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you, and when you hear His voice, arise from sin, as did
Lazarus from the grave. Without that, you will perhaps
never, never be converted.
a • • • • • a
A change from bad to good is not effected in a moment
How great a change then must that be, from a bad life to
a good death !
You know that the grace of a deathbed repentance, is
the most extraordinary of all graces ; and still you think,
that you have a right to expect it, you, who have brought
yourself to be most unworthy of so great a grace ; un-
worthy, by that career of callous indifference of which you
know all the baseness ; unworthy, by the knowledge of
inspirations from heaven, which you have so many times
misused ; unworthy, by the neglect of those blessed inward
warnings from above ; unworthy, by that false and deceitful
security which you have cherished, and which is the climax
of all your sins.
I ask you, if there ever was a sinner who ought to expect
from God the grace of conversion, would it be a sinner of
your grade, and if there is much to fear for one sinner,
ought you not to fear that the curse of Heaven would
descend upon you, and that you would be rejected as a
criminal too guilty to merit forgiveness ?
Massillon.
A man, when he is at death's door, is like unto a city,
besieged and vigorously stormed by the enemy. Every
civil function is suspended ; courts of justice, schools, busi-
ness, fine arts, are all suspended during that calamity;
every one runs to the ramparts to share in the common
danger. So a person, the citadel of whose heart is besieged,
with the pains of death, to make use of the prophet's
expressions, thinks only of his pain ; hL soul is entirely at
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ON FINAL IMPENITENCE.
237
the mercy of those who torture the most; it is then, it
must strive its utmost, to drive away an enemy, ready to
make itself master of the place. During this temptation,
it no longer sees nor hears, it only feels the pain ; in that
dread hour one hardly dares to call its attention to many
important affairs, nevertheless it is the time reserved ex-
pressly for the only great affair, for an affair, on which
hangs an eternity.
Woe to me ! if I am so badly advised as to use my soul
thus ; woe to me ! if I delay to the last moment of my
life, that which should have been the occupation of my
life.
De la Colombiere, S.J.
Do not, I implore you, delay your conversion to God,
for you know not the day appointed to carry you off.
You tell me that God has given His grace to be con-
verted, to some when they have reached to extreme old
age. Does it follow from this that He will grant you the
same favour ? Perhaps He will grant it to me. Why add,
perhaps ? Because it has sometimes happened. What !
does the question of your salvation depend on a perhaps ?
St. Chrysostom.
Epis. ad Theod.
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69.— Dn ambition.
PAres Houdry and Croiset.
" They much preferred the glory of man, to the glory of God."
— John xiL 43.
Of the chastisements inflicted by Almighty God on the
ambitious man, there is no instance more terrible, than
the fate and punishment of Nabuchodonosor.
The king ceased to be a prince, and, at the same time,
lost his reason and his crown.
We read in the book of Daniel : " But when his heart
was lifted up, and his spirit hardened with pride, he was
put down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory
was taken away."
He lost his speech, and was forced to bellow like the
oxen, and did eat grass, and from the highest rank he was
reduced to the lowest pitch of misery. He was driven
from a palace wherein he formerly was idolised, and
therein, was a sight never before witnessed in any palace
of a king. The magnificent buildings which had been the
unfortunate source of his pride, could only serve him,
as a humiliating retreat; that majesty, which all obeyed
tremblingly, was in the twinkling of an eye, deprived
of every mark of honour.
One sought for Nabuchodonosor in vain. His children
no longer knew their father, his subjects no longer recog-
nised their king.
Ambition is a passion which prompts men to raise
themselves higher than their due. It is ever unjust, and
insatiability becomes a part of its character.
What vice more hurtful to repose! Disdainful and
Pere Houdry, S.J.
ON AMBITION.
239
discontented, it despises all that is lowly, and recognises
no equal. No vice is more hideous! Ambition seeks
only its aim — no exertion and labour too -difficult, pro-
vided it accomplishes its object. All roads to advance-
ment appear to the ambitious man to be level. Ambi-
tion is his idol, and to this he sacrifices duty, friend-
ship, gratitude, and scorns every law, human and divine.
No passion more hard-hearted, more irreligious. What
scheme does not the ambitious man resort to, to attain
his object? Intrigues, quarrels, intercession, base flattery,
all are made use of. The ambitious play many parts —
now a friend, now a suppliant, but rarely that of an honest
man, and still more seldom, that of a Christian man.
Conscience is disregarded, religion unheeded, and passion
reigns supreme in the ambitious heart.
From this, arises failures, that total disregard of mora-
lity, and all that is sacred.
Ambition upsets, so to speak, the economy of provi-
dence. Opposed as it is to its designs, it follows and
pursues its own plans and projects. It selects positions,
procures dignities, seizes hold of the foremost place, seeks
to displace others, and yearns to be higher, higher still.
The life of an ambitious man is spent in sighing after
an imaginary fortune, a phantom of glory. His present
state of life displeases him, if he sees an opportunity of
obtaining a higher position, and which he flatters himself
he has the ability to fill. To secure this, what measures
will he not take, and to what meanness will he not resort ?
One might say that the majority of mankind, seemed to
imitate those rash children of Noah, who busied them-
selves in erecting a tower that would reach to heaven.
• Christian virtue is the only object worthy of ambition.
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70.— anger*
SS. Basil, Chrysostom,
and Ambrose.
*' Whosoever is angry with his brother, shall deserve to be condemned by the
judgment," — Matthew v. 13.
[St. Basil— called the Great, to distinguish him from other Patri-
archs of the same name — was born in 329, and in the year 370 he was
made Bishop of Csesarea in Cappadocia, where he died in 379.
Among all the Grecian Patriarchs St. Basil ranks as the most
distinguished ecclesiastic.
The vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty framed by St. Basil
are to this day the rules of every order of Christendom. His writings
were read by all, even by the Pagans. They compared him to the
celebrated ancient orators, and was unsurpassed by any of the holy
Fathers, An excellent life of St. Basil, by Mons. Hermant, was
published in France in the year 1674.]
THOSE persons who are subject to this furious passion, are
compared in Holy Writ to beasts, because they imitate
their malignity ; and that those who are in the habit of
committing all kinds of crime, are rightly placed in the
category of those ferocious and carnivorous animals, who
bear a natural enmity to man.
Quickness of temper, ill-natured, inconsiderate words,
violence, calumnies, reproaches, injuries, blows, and all
other disorders, are the result and fruit of anger. It is
that vice which sharpens the swords, with which men kill
each other, that brothers no longer recognise their own
flesh and blood, that parents and children stifle the best
feelings that nature implants in them.
ON ANGER,
241
A passionate man does not even know himself, he
respects neither age, virtue, nor kindred, he forgets bene-
fits, and is not moved by aught that is most sacred
amongst men.
Anger is a momentary madness. Those who are prone
to it, neglect themselves for the sake of revenge, and often
thereby expose themselves to all sorts of danger.
The remembrance of wrongs that may have been in-
flicted on them, is like a needle which continually pricks
them ; their excited minds know no rest, until they have
caused some great grief, or until they have inflicted some
injury on those who may have offended them; when, what
they wish to do, often recoils upon themselves, and this is
frequently the case.
St. Basil.
• • • • • • ♦
Do you not know that when one flies into a passion,
trifling things appear insupportable, and what is the least
injurious becomes magnified, and appears to be an insulting
outrage. That which we look upon as a little word has
often caused murders and ruined entire cities.
Thus, when we love some one, the most disagreeable
task appears to be light and easy ; in like manner, when
we cherish hate, the lightest things appear to be insup-
portable. Although the word or words may have been
uttered without intention of hurting the feelings, we
harbour the thought that it must proceed from a heart
that is poisoned against us. St. Paul says, " Let not the
sun go down on your anger." He fears that th£ night,
finding the offended person alone, may fester the wound.
During the day the work and bustle of the world causes
his anger to slumber, but when the night has come, he is
alone, and he broods over his fancied injuries, and his
troubled soul becomes excited, and passionate anger
resumes its sway.
Q
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St. Paul, foreseeing this evil, wishes him to be reconciled
before the sun goes down, in order that the devil may not
have the opportunity of re-enkindling his anger, and thus
make it turn to hate.
St. Chrysostom.
If a man cannot help feeling angry, in spite of himself,
he can at least try to mitigate his wrath.
Against that unhappy feeling of anger, we should
oppose it, by that gentlest of all virtues, patience. For
if anger should exceed its proper limit, it opens a wound
in the soul which allows itself to be led away, it deadens
every proper feeling, thickens the tongue, disturbs the eye,
and, in fact, revolutionises the whole frame.
Therefore, in dealing with an angry man, resist him if
you can, and if you cannot, yield to him.
Would you wish to know how to act, when you have
received an insult? Do not return evil for evil; pay no
attention to malicious reports, neither be wicked because
others are wicked. The pagans have often quoted a re-
mark made by one of their philosophers, and which is cer-
tainly deserving of praise. His servant having greatly
displeased him by an act of gross injustice, he said to him:
" Go, wretched man, how severely would I not punish you,
were I not in a passion ! "
David acted in a similar way ; he restrained his anger
when he felt tempted to revenge ; but he so thoroughly had
mastered his passions, that he did not answer a single
word to the insults they heaped upon him.
St. Ambrose.
Officii*.
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ON AVARICE.
243
71.— Dn atratfce*
" Let your life be exempt from avarice ; be content with what you have."
—Hebrews xiii. 5.
St. Chrysostom and Massillon.
THERE is nothing more cruel, nothing more infamous than
the usury, so common amongst men.
The usurer traffics on the misfortunes of others ; he en-
riches himself on their poverty, and then he demands his
compound interest, as if they were under a great obligation
to him.
He is heartless to his creditor, but is afraid of appear-
ing so ; when he pretends that he has every inclination to
oblige, he crushes him the more and reduces him to the
last extremity. He offers one hand, and with the other
pushes him down the precipice.
He offers to assist the shipwrecked, and instead of guid-
ing them safely into port, he steers them among the reefs
and rocks. Where your treasure is, there is your heart,
says our Saviour. Perhaps you may have avoided many
evils arising from avarice ; but still if you cherish an attach-
ment to this odious vice, it will be of little use, for you
will still be a slave, free as you fancy yourself to be ; and
you will fall from the height of heaven, to that spot
wherein your gold is hidden, and your thoughts will still
complacently dwell on money, gains, usury, and dishonest
commerce.
What is more miserable than such a state?
There is not a sadder tyranny than that of a man who
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is a willing subject to this furious tyrant, destroying all
that is good in him, namely, the nobility of his soul.
So long as you have a heart basely attached to gains
and riches ; whatsoever truths may be told you, or what-
soever advice may be given to you, to secure your salvation
— all will be useless.
Avarice is an incurable malady, an ever-burning fire, a
tyranny which extends far and wide ; for he who, in this
life is the slave of money, is loaded with heavy chains,
and destined to carry far heavier chains in the life to
come.
St. Chrysostom.
De Avaritia.
It is that insatiable greed for gold and the goods of this
world, which engenders all those crying injustices, — all
those double-dealings in trade and companies, those in-
fidelities to promises, that all-devouring rapacity, which,
heedless of the widow and orphans, violate the most sacred
laws, merely to satisfy the cravings of a vast cupidity.
From avarice arises, that desire of establishing the status
of your own family, and of building up a name and reputa-
tion, at the expense of the holy commandments of God
and His Church.
From that proceed, those forced sacrifices of unloved
children to occupations for which they may have a distaste,
merely for the sake of aggrandising those, for whom they
have a greater love, — that bold usurpation of the poor, by
depriving them, so to speak, of the inheritance of Jesus
Christ.
It is a sin of which a man can very seldom be cured
without the help of an especial grace.
When a vice is not sufficiently strong of itself to be
satisfied, it generally calls in the assistance of another
vice near at hand ; for instance, vengeance is satiated, when
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ON ANGER.
245
blood is spilled. Misfortune cures us of pride and am-
bition ; sensuality dies out with our strength and health ;
but avarice alone increases with our age.
Ambition feeds avarice, pleasure flatters it, and the old
man used up by sensuality becomes eager for money,
and so hoards something daily for the end of a journey,
which, alas for him ! is so near at hand.
One look alone of our Saviour touched the heart of
Peter; a word converted Paul; the incredulous Thomas
becomes a firm believer as soon as he touched the wounds
and side of his Lord and Master; but neither look nor
word nor touch, did the avaricious Judas heed.
Ah ! my brother, if a little limpid stream were near,
and that was sufficient to satisfy your thirst, why seek for
one as wide as an ocean, which will only make you more
thirsty? If you have sufficient for your wants, why seek
for more ?
A man who is in heart a miser has plenty, and yet has
it not. He has enough, because he is already rich and
amasses daily. He has it not, for with all his gold he
yearns for more ; he lives as if he had nothing, and at last
he dies poor. His gold is as nothing, and he dies poorer
than the poorest beggar.
Jesus Christ came down from heaven to cure this dread-
ful vice. To drive away avarice, He elevates the love of
poverty to the highest rank, and to effect this, He who is
the Lord and Master of all riches on earth, preferred to be
born in a stable ; to pass His early days in a carpenter's
workshop, and then die naked on a cross, in order to
establish a religion, poor and pure, in the midst of a coarse
and cruel Judaism.
Massillon.
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72.— cm atfjeto anD ©nfieltefc
St. Augustine and St. Cyprian.
"I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God."
— Isaias xliv. 6.
IF I asked an atheist how I can be convinced that he is
alive (for, indeed, I cannot see the soul that dwells within
him), he would answer that he acts, he speaks, and walks,
consequently that he is a living being. But it is possible
to move, walk, and even speak by mechanism, and I see
nothing which persuades me that he has within himself a
principle which of its nature can control or instil such an
animation. At least I may obstinately require proofs from
him, of that interior source which belies him.
The intelligence, reflection and freedom which accom-
pany these exterior signs of life, he replies, leave no doubt
that the source from which they spring, must be the souL
I agree, and am forced to agree, with him. In admitting
creation, why, then, does he not adore the Creator ?
Creatures are ever in motion ; of themselves, they could
not possibly know how to maintain, and keep up all that
so harmoniously dwells within. He will not say what he
thinks. To choose with so much certainty all that is
proper and convenient, to make use of things to which
they are indifferent, and which, in their hardness of heart,
they attribute to chance.
O fool ! let him acknowledge that Supreme Being,
whose wisdom and power shine so visibly in the world.
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ON ATHEISM AND UNBELIEF.
247
Holy Scripture makes no distinction between the atheist,
and the madman and fool ; they are nevertheless led by a
very different way. The fool thinks what he says, and
says what he thinks ; the thoughts and words of the atheist
do not agree. His opinions give the lie to his words, and
his words give the lie to his opinions. In his heart he
denies the Divinity. I am wrong, I should say he would
wish to deny it; he, however, cannot succeed in this;
for he dares not publish his opinion, because he does not
understand it. Every effort that he takes in order to fly
from the fear of God (who is a witness of all his deeds)
only ends in a vague, confused idea of a belief which startles
him in spite of himself. O madman ! to wish to force his
reason, to lose his reasoning faculties.
It must be madness to battle against a truth, which has
•been accepted at all times and in all places. There is a
Divinity, and this is what all have agreed upon; a God
has been acknowledged, and Him they have adored.
This conviction is not the result of education, for educa-
tion differs in all parts of the globe. It is not the com-
merce, which has spread from one nation to another ; for
all nations have not been able to agree on this point, with-
out the help of a mutual intelligence. Questions of policy *
have not been able to produce it, for governments so
opposed to each other, so different in manners and customs,
could not possibly come to terms. Princes and subjects
could not have been able to combat with the impressions,
naturally formed in all kinds of intelligences.
Is it study which has given it birth? Certainly not!
On this point, the grossest ignorance does not yield to
good breeding or knowledge. In favour of a Divinity, I
do not ask, said Tertullian, for the testimony of a soul in
established schools, in well-stored libraries, or in first-rate
colleges; I appeal to a simple and savage soul; I invoke
the soul itself, such as it comes from the hands of its
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Creator. If any person has been the first to discover or
make known the existence of that Supreme Being, tell me
the land from which he has sprung, and the nation which
has published it to the whole world. Point out the time,
and the age which has first heard it. The birth of a truth
so startling, so important, could not have failed to have
been noticed.
Perhaps it may be said, in opposition to this, that idolatry
has reigned, that empires and kingdoms have adored dif-
ferent gods ; I know it, and I only maintain to establish
a universal knowledge and recognition of the Divinity.
If there be under heaven an atheist, he must acknow-
ledge that idolatry destroys itself, and that his ridicule is
only equal to his error. But reason, alone, cannot compass
all the perfections of the Divinity, of which it is struck
with wonder, and which it cannot ignore.
All men yearn after a happiness which they naturally
aim at acquiring ; but without the assistance of faith, how
could they agree, as to its quality and essence? To
an ordinary intelligent mind, how difficult it would prove
to act in opposition to an opinion which is universally
recognised ! And yet that very difficulty, would it not be
a convincing proof of the truth he would deny ?
One could scarcely imagine a man to be more wicked
than he who coolly and deliberately resolves to riot in the
commission of the most abominable vices. And yet a
man who makes it his study and profession, and who
piques himself upon it to deny the existence of a Supreme
Being, is such a man. It is neither chance, nor delusion,
nor reflection, nor knowledge, nor even debauchery, that
have led him into that frightful error ; it is his will only.
We are born ignorant, weak, inconstant, inclined to evil;
but we come into this world, with all the prejudices, that
wage war against atheism.
If it is possible to be an atheist, it is because the will to
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ON ATHEISM AND UNBELIEF.
be one is there. It is undoubtedly true that such a wish
arises from debauchery, but such will is, in itself a lewdness
of the most detestable kind. One does not plunge oneself
by degrees in the lowest depths of vice; as soon as they
affirm that there is no God, they cast themselves suddenly
into the abyss.
St. Augustine.
On Psalm lxxiii.
• • * • • • •
God cannot be seen, He is far too bright for us ; neither
can we understand Him, He is far beyond our comprehen-
sion ; He is not sufficiently valued, because He is out of
the reach of our senses ; this is why, we should worthily
estimate the perfection of His being, when we say that He
is inestimable.
If I know not myself, if I know neither the nature nor
the essence of my soul, if I cannot give a reason of what
is in me, how shall I dare to lift up my eyes in order to
understand God, who is the beginning and end of all things,
and who is Himself, without beginning and end ?
St. Cyprian.
Deldol Vanit.
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73.— *Dn 'Bfofitp&emg*
Extract from " La Morale Chrttientu? and
St. Chrysostom.
" A man that sweareth much shall be filled with iniquity, and a scourge shall not
depart from his house."— Eccles. xxiii. xa.
All oaths are forbidden, except when absolutely neces-
sary ; and it is breaking the commandment which God has
made, not only by taking His sacred name in vain, but
He is dishonoured by blasphemies, impious jests, oaths
uttered on trifling occasions, frequent and habitual swear-
ing, uttered through wicked malice or through useless,
frivolous promises, confirmed on oath.
We acknowledge the holiness of the name of God by
faith, and it is by faith, we know that perjury dishonours
Him. With regard to this precept, every oath, every
curse, every kind of swearing is against this precept, and
opposed to the respect due to the holy name of God ; for
" holy and terrible is His name :" Sanctum et terribile norm
ejus. But where are the men and traders of the world who
obey this commandment? Alas! many swear of their
own accord, without a thought, without reflection, and
very many through habit.
Let us take care to avoid the use of oaths in our tem-
poral affairs ; for it is an abuse of religion, and is taking a
mercenary view of God.
The abuse of swearing arises either from a bold defiance
of Him, who forbids it, or from the malice of those, who
make use of it, or from thoughtlessness and irreverence.
ON BLASPHEMY.
251
Religion, honesty, and honour, would remedy all this.
Nothing would be so contrary to the Spirit of God and
to the doctrine of Jesus Christ as the making use of oaths
in the church, because it would be the occasion of perjury,
lay snares for the weak and ignorant, and sometimes would
place the name and truths of God in the hands of the
wicked.
J a Morale ChritUnne,
• ••••••
I beseech you, my brothers, to be ever on your guard
against the habit of swearing and blaspheming.
If a slave dare to pronounce the name of his master, he
does it but seldom, and then only with respect ; therefore
is it not a shocking impiety to speak with contempt and
irreverence of the name of the Master of angels and sera-
phim? People handle the book of the Gospel with a
religious fear, and then only with clean hands, and yet
your rash tongue would inconsiderately profane the name
of the Divine Author of the Gospel.
Would you wish to know with what respect, fear, and
wonder, the choirs of the angels pronounce the adorable
name ? Listen to the prophet Isaias : il I saw," says Isaias,
"the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated : upon
it, stood the seraphim, who cried one to another and said,
Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is
full of his glory."
See with what terror they are seized, even while they
praise and glorify Him. As for you, my brethren, you
know how cold and indifferent are the prayers you say,
and you know how frequently you blaspheme a name so
majestic, so sacred, and how you try to make excuses for
the bad habit you have contracted. It is easy, yes, I say,
it is easy, with a little care, attention, and reflection, to
leave off this vicious habit.
Since we have fallen, my brethren, into this sin of bias-
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phemy, I conjure you, in the name of our Lord, to rebuke
openly these blasphemers. When you meet with such
who publicly sin in this respect, correct them by word of
mouth, and, if necessary, by your strong arm. Let these
shameless swearers be covered with confusion. You could
not employ your hand to a holier work. And if you are
given into custody, go boldly before the magistrate, and
say in your defence that you have avenged a blasphemy.
For if a person is punished for speaking contemptuously
of a prince, is it not reasonable to suppose that a person
who speaks irreverently of God, should be sentenced to a
severer punishment ? It is a public crime, a common
injury which all the world ought to condemn.
Let the Jews and infidels see that our magistrates are
Christians, and that they will not allow those to go
unpunished, who insult and outrage their Master.
Do you remember that it was a false oath that over-
turned the house, temples, and walls of Jerusalem, and
from a superb city, it became a mass of ruins ? Neither the
sacred vessels, nor the sanctuary could stay the vengeance
of a God, justly angered against a violator of His word.
Sedecias did not receive a more favoured treatment
than Jerusalem. Flight did not save him from his enemies.
This prince, escaping secretly, was pursued and taken by
the Assyrians, who led him to their king. The king, after
asking him the reason of his perfidy, not only caused his
children to be killed, but deprived him of his sight, and
sent him back to Babylon, loaded with iron chains.
Would you know the reason why? It was that the
barbarians and Jews who inhabited the country adjoining
Persia should know, by this terrible example, that the
breach of an oath is punishable.
St. Chrysostom.
Seventh Homily.
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ON CALUMNY AND SLANDER.
253
74.— Dn Cafumng and ©Jantier*
Bourdaloue, and SS. Chrysostom
and Bernard.
"The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity ; it is an unquiet evil, full of deadly
poison. "—Jambs UL 6, 8.
SCRIPTURE, in giving us a portrait of a slanderer, repre-
sents him as a terrible and formidable man. " A man full
of tongue is terrible in his city, and he that is rash in his
word shall be hateful" (Eccles. ix. 25).
In fact, he is formidable in a city, formidable in a com-
munity, formidable in private houses, formidable among
the rich, as also among the poor. In a city, because he
creates factions and parties ; in a community, because he
disturbs its interior peace and union ; in private dwellings,
because he introduces coolness and enmities ; among the
rich, because he abuses the confidence they place in him,
in order to work the destruction of those whom they may
dislike; among the poor, because he urges them on to
quarrel one with another. How many families have been
estranged through a petty slander ! how many friendships
have been severed by a scandalous joke ! how many hearts
lacerated by indiscreet reports !
What is that, that daily occasions so many open and
declared ruptures ? Is it not an offensive expression which
was totally uncalled for ?
What is that, that causes duels (now so wisely forbidden
by laws human and divine) ? Is it not often only a sting-
ing remark, which is not credited, but which, according to
the false honour of the world, could not go unpunished ?•
Although other vices generally increase in virulence with
time, still there are certain states and conditions of life
which retard or stop their growth ; it may be by the grace
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of vocation, or by a firm resolution to conquer bad habits,
or by a withdrawal from occasions of sin, or it may be by
a kind of necessity.
Avarice, for instance, is less liable to be rooted in the
heart of a religious ; ambition is rarely to be found among
the poor and lowly. There have been maidens in the
Christian world who have immediately overcome all temp-
tations of the flesh, but as for slander, it exercises its sway
over every class.
It is the vice of the adult, of the young, of sovereigns, of
the learned and ignorant ; it is the vice of the court, city,
of the lawyer, of the soldier, of the young and old. Shall I
say it? and yet I cannot draw the line here. No, my
brethren, I must say it with all respect ; it is the vice of
priests as well as of laymen, of the religious bodies as well
as the seculars, of the devotee as well, perhaps more so,
than that of the wicked. Recollect, however, I do not say
it is the vice of the truly devout, thank God ! True piety
is exempt from every vice, and to attribute a single fault
to such a one would be an insult to God, and throw dis-
credit on the worship due to Him. But those who profess
devotion have their besetting sins like unto all, and you
knowif slander and calumny are not amongst the most usuaL
Besides that, it is a sin which tempts the most devout
a sin which nullifies the gifts of grace, a sin which corrupts
their minds, whilst their bodies remain chaste, a sin which
sadly shipwrecks their souls, even after having avoided the
most criminal perils, and the fiercest passions ; in fine, it is
a sin which is the cause of the loss of many a pious soul,
and which dishonours devotion.
St. Bernard, in his twenty-fourth sermon on the Canti-
cles, depicts the portrait of a sanctimonious slanderer.
BOURDALOUE.
DominiccdL
ON CALUMNY AND SLANDbK.
255
The saint says : — Look at that clever calumniator ! He
begins by fetching a deep sigh, he affects to be humble, and
puts on a modest look, and with a voice choking with sobs,
tries to gloss over the slander, which is on the tip of his
tongue. One would fancy, that he expressly assumed a
calm and easy demeanour; for when he speaks against his
brother, it is in a tender and compassionate tone. I am
really hurt, says he, to find that our brother has fallen into
such a sin; you all know how much I love him, and how
often I have tried to correct him. It is not to-day that I
have noticed his failing; for I should always be on my
guard to speak of others, but others have spoken of it too.
It would be in vain to disguise the fact ; it is only too true,
and with tears in my eyes I tell it to you. This poor
unfortunate brother has talent, but it must be confessed
that he is very guilty, and however great may be our
friendship for him, it is impossible to excuse him. .
To commit a murder, besides the not having the person
in your power, there are many measures and precautions
to take. A favourable opportunity must be waited for, and
a place must be selected before we can put so damnable "a
design into execution. More than this, the pistols may
miss fire, blows may not be sufficient, and all wounds are
not mortal. But to deprive a man of his reputation and
honour, one word is sufficient. By finding out the most
sensitive part of his honour, you may tarnish his reputa-
tion, by telling it to all who know him, and easily take
away his character for honour and integrity. To do this,
however, no time is required, for scarcely have you com-
placently cherished the wish to calumniate him, than the
sin is effected.
St. Bernard.
St. Chrysostom.
256 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
75.— Dh DfccorU, ILato Suit*, etc.
PfeRE Lejeune, Homelies Morales,
and St. Ambrose.
" He that studieth discords, loveth quarrels."— Proverbs xvil 19.
[PfeRE JOHN Lejeune, called the famous preacher, was born at
D61e, in the year 1592, where his father was the parliamentary
councillor. He refused a canonry of Arbois, in order to enter the
growing Congregation of the Oratory. Cardinal de Berulle, the
founder of the French Oratory, had a great affection for Pere Lejeune,
and always looked upon him, as one of his ablest followers.
The French Oratory must not be confounded with the Oratory of
St. Philip Neri, the rules and constitutions of each, being different from
each other. (See page 64.)
Pere Lejeune, when preaching a course of Lenten sermons at
Rouen, entirely lost his eyesight ; this occurred when he was but
thirty-three years old ; he however continued his preaching at various
missions, until he reached the age of sixty. La Fayette, the Bishop
of Limoges, induced him at last to remain in his diocese, and it was
at Limoges he died, in the odour of sanctity, on the 19th of August
1672, aged eighty.
His sermons, occupying the space of ten volumes octavo, were
published in Toulouse and in Paris. The celebrated Massillon ac-
knowledged, that he was indebted to Pere Lejeune for many beautiful
passages he introduced into his own sermons ; and it was through
the reading of his sermons, that induced the recently canonised
Benedict Labre* to devote his whole life to silent prayer and meditation.
A selection from his sermons was afterwards published, and it was
called "The Sermons of the Blind Father.?]
Quarrels, enmities, and law proceedings do not very often
cease among people who are at variance with others:
these kinds of disputes are for the most part hereditary
ON DISCORD/LAW SUITS, ETC.
257
in some families; they continue and pass from generation
to generation. They communicate their differences and
aversion to their children ; they speak of them in their
presence; they tell them of the injuries they pretend to
have received from those with whom they have been at
variance.
Such a one, they say, is a declared enemy of our house ;
his sole object is to injure us; we have always had some
disagreements together; it is a long time since we went
to law, and our suit is not as yet ended. Young children,
susceptible as they ever are, listen attentively, soon share
in their parents' dislikes; they enter into the passionate
feelings of their fathers ; they suck in with their milk, so
to speak, their corrupt inclinations, and scarcely have they
arrived to man's estate, than they have imbibed, through
those bad discourses, dispositions which will lead them to
perdition.
It is thus that enmities multiply, and become lasting ;
they descend from father to son, from generation to gene-
ration, and a wretched, miserable misunderstanding, which,
though small at its birth, grows and grows, and descends
by degrees to the end of ages. Time even does not finish
it, but it continues still in an unhappy eternity.
As the Son of God censures and condemns the dissen-
sions and animosities which are permanent among men, so
is it His intention to recommend peace and concord. This
is what the Holy Ghost teaches us through the mouth of
the Royal Prophet : Inquire pacem et persequere earn — Seek
peace, and do not weary in its pursuit. The Apostle in
like manner in his Epistle to the Romans: "If it be
possible, my brethren, as much as is in you, having peace
with all men."
Le Pere Lejeune.
Sermons, Vol v.
R
258
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
St Chrysostom weighs those words, " If it be possible,"
for, says he, it sometimes happens, that it is not possible
to be at peace with certain persons, arid on certain occa-
sions,— for instance, when there is a question of upholding
Christian piety and truth, which is sought to be vilified.
The Apostle says : " Do your duty in the sight of all men,
not revenging yourselves, so that you may give no counte-
nance to discord or iniquity;" but if piety and devotion be
attacked, if any one should infringe the rules, leave peace
to defend the truth and keep it unto death, so that you
may ever maintain charity inviolate towards those with
whom you may have been at variance. You will not treat
him as an enemy, but you must speak to him in a friendly
way, tell him of his fault in a mild and charitable manner,
and explain the truth as it is ; for this must be the mean-
ing of those words — " As much as in you, having peace
with all men"
Show him that you are a sincere friend, taking care,
however, that you do not disguise the truth.
The glorious St. Gregory de Nazianzen seeing that the
assembled bishops of the city of Constantinople were
vexed and troubled at his being elected Bishop, which
dignity, the saint had only accepted through compulsion,
he not only, for peace' sake, willingly sent in his resigna-
tion, but he beseeched and entreated the Emperor Theo-
dosius to allow him to refuse the offered charge. " I ask of
you," said he, " to grant me one favour : this is to lighten and
relieve me from the weight of the work with which I am
loaded. You have triumphed over savage enemies, but
your glory and the grand trophy of your empire, is to
establish peace and concord among the bishops. In their
councils they are disunited ; the only means of reuniting
them is a resignation. The Church's ship is disturbed,
rocking fearfully; since it is on my account, that this
storm has arisen, throw me overboard, and there soon will
be a calm/'
ON DISCORD, LAW SUITS, ETC.
259
The Emperor and his councillors, knowing the eminent
virtue apd the profound learning of this holy prelate, were
so surprised at this request so touchingly delivered, that
it was with extreme reluctance, that they agreed to accept
his resignation.
Homelies Morales.
In order to avoid dissensions, we should be ever on our
guard, more especially with those who drive us to argue
with them, with those who vex and irritate us, and who
say things likely to excite us to anger. When we find
ourselves in company with quarrelsome, eccentric in-
dividuals, people who openly and unblushingly say the
most shocking things, difficult to put up with, we should
take refuge in silence, and the wisest plan is, not to reply
to people whose behaviour is so preposterous.
Those who insult us and treat us contumeliously are
anxious for a spiteful sarcastic reply : the silence we then
affect, disheartens them, and they cannot avoid showing
their vexation ; they do all they can to provoke us and to
elicit a reply, but the best way to baffle them is to say
nothing, refuse to argue with them and to leave them to
chew the cud of their hasty anger. This method of bring-
ing down their pride disarms them, and shows them plainly
that we slight and despise them.
St. Ambrose.
Offices, Chap. v.
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260
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
76. — jflDn (ZEffemtnacg anD ©etwualttg.
" Many walk, of whom I have told you often (and now tell you weeping), that
they are enemies of the cross of Christ : whose end is destruction, whose God is
their belly, and whose glory is in their shame.'*— Philippians Hi. 18.
Extracts from an excellent book entitled " The Broad Way
that Leads to Perdition? by Pere Haineuve.
It is a very dangerous error to fall into, to imagine, that
in leading an effeminate and indolent life, one does not
stray into the broad road which leads to perdition.
This is as much as to say, that you cannot be positively
wicked, if you do not give way to excess, and that it is not
going to perdition, if you go on slowly, or step by step.
If you examine your conscience, you would soon see,
that in leading such a life you are not walking on that
narrow path, on which our Saviour bids you enter.
As you would not like to confess, that you are in the
broad path, you must as readily acknowledge that you are
not of the number of those who daily take up their cross
and practise austerities which accompany those who walk
in the narrow path.
From this it follows, that we imagine that there must
be a third road of which Jesus Christ does not make men-
tion, and that it is in this said third path, that we can
securely walk, without giving ourselves too much trouble,
to reach the gates of heaven.
Perhaps you may have never thought of this third road,
which we have just mentioned, but it is the fact that you
Le Pere Haineuvk
ON EFFEMINACY AND SENSUALITY.
naturally love an easy and indolent life; you wish to enjoy
ail its attractions, to have all your own way, without being
troubled with sufferings, or with contradictions, and in that
state of mind, were you compelled to make choice of the
two paths, you would say, that you would choose neither
the one nor the other.
You have no desire to go by the narrow path, because
you have a horror of trouble and constraint, and you do
not wish to go by the broad path, for you dread the loss
of your souL
What would you then ? Which road do you intend to
take ? How do you purpose living ?
If you dare to be candid, you would make this sincere
avowal, that you seek for liberty to enjoy the pleasures of
this life, without the fear of losing your soul for all eter-
nity, and you seek for a path, which would conduct you to
eternal bliss, without suffering all the pains and labours
which we have to endure, before we reach the enc} of our
journey.
This then is what you seek for, and what you lay claim
to. But where is this path ? where shall we find it on this
side of the grave ?
Two paths are spoken of in holy writ; one on which we
find thorns and crosses — these we flee from; the other leads
to perdition, which we fain would avoid.
Our Lord said {Matt, vii.), " Strait is the way that lead-
eth to life." The Son of God does not say, " the way that
leadeth to perfection," but " the way that leadeth to life, is
strait."
He does not say that there is a strait way which leads
to life, as if there was another ; but He says positively,
"The way that leads to life eternal is strait ;" to teach us
that whosoever wishes to enter heaven, must resolve to
enter in at the narrow gate.
In many other chapters of St. Matthew and St. Luke
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262
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
He repeats the same thing : Arcta est via. . . . Augusta via
est contendite intrare per angustam portatn."
Has He told us, even once, that there was a sweet and
easy way to work out our salvation ? If there was one,
would He have been ignorant of it ? If He had known it,
would He have concealed it ? 1 Had He not known of it,
how could He be called the true way, and the most excel-
lent of all guides, Ego sum via, Veritas et vita, " I am the
way, the truth and the life " ?
If after He had discovered it, He had concealed it from
us, would we not have had a right to complain of His
silence on so important a subject? would we not have had
reason to reproach Him, for having loaded us with a use-
less burden by conducting us along a rude and rugged
path, strewn with flinty stones, bristling with thorns, to a
terminus, when He might have led us through a smooth
and even pathway all covered with flowers ?
Remark then, how emphatically He speaks of the diffi-
culties of the road, " How strait and narrow is the way!"
Ah ! once more, how narrow is the way that leadeth to
eternal life !
If the effeminate and sensual life, which so many Chris-
tians lead, could pass through the narrow way, what need
would there be for our Saviour to say so emphatically,
Quant arcta et angusta via est (How strait and narrow is
the way) ?
But note especially, that our Saviour speaks but of two
ways — one narrow, the other broad. We cannot trace a
vestige of the third ; and as all the wicked march on the
broad way, it evidently follows that all the elect, without
exception, must go by the narrow way.
After that, what delusion, what blindness to imagine for
a moment that we can work out our salvation by leading
an effeminate, an indolent life !
Digitized by
ON ENVY AND JEALOUSY.
263
77.— flDn €ntip anD Jtaloua^
SS. Cyprian, Chrysostom,
and Basil.
M By the envy of the devil death came into the world, and they follow him that
are of his side."— Wisdom ii. 24, 25.
[St. Cyprian was born in the year 200 at Carthage. In his forty-
sixth year he was converted to Christianity, and in 248 he was made
Bishop of Carthage. On the 14th of September 258 he was beheaded
at Carthage, because, in opposition to the, orders of the Government,
he had preached the gospel, in his own gardens.
Lactantius calls him one of the most eloquent of the early Fathers
of the Church. St. Jerome compares his style to a spring of the purest
water, whose course is mild and peaceable. Others have compared
it, perhaps with more reason, to a torrent, which draws down with it,
all that impedes its progress.
All his writings have been translated into French by Lombert, and
published in the year 1672 in four volumes.]
Oh ! ye who are envious, let me tell you, that however
often you may seek for the opportunity of injuring him,
whom you hate, you will never be able to do him so much
harm, as you do harm to yourselves.
He, whom you would pursue through the malice of your
envy, may probably escape, but you will never be able to
fly from yourselves. Wherever you may be, your adversary
is with you, your sin rankles within.
It must be a self-willed evil, to persecute a person whom
God has taken under the protection of His grace; it
becomes an irremediable sin, to hate a man whom God
wishes to make happy.
264
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
Envy is as prolific as it is hurtful; it is the root of all
evil, the source of endless disorder and misery, the cause
of most sins that are committed. Envy gives birth to
hatred and animosity. From it, avarice is begotten, for
it sees with an evil eye honours and emoluments heaped
upon a stranger, and thinks that such honours should have
been, by right, bestowed upon himself. From envy, comes
contempt of God, and of the salutary precepts of Dur
Saviour.
The envious man is cruel, proud, unfaithful, impatieit,
and quarrelsome ; and, what is strange, when this vice
gains the mastery, he is no longer master of himself, and
he is unable to correct his many faults. If the bond of
peace is broken, if the rights of fraternal charity are
violated, if truth is altered or disguised, it is often envy,
that hurries him on to crime.
What happiness can such a man enjoy in this world ?
To be envious or jealous of another, because such a one is
virtuous and happy, is to hate in him, the graces and
blessings God has showered down upon him.
Does he not punish himself when he sees the success
and welfare of others? Does he not draw down upon
himself tortures, from which there is no respite ? Are not
his thoughts, his mind, constantly on the rack ?
He pitilessly punishes himself, and, in his heart, per-
forms the same cruel office which Divine Justice reserves,
for the chastisement of the greatest criminal.
Oh ! envious man, you injure yourself, more than he,
whom you would injure, and the sword with which you
wound, will recoil and wound yourself.
What harm did Cain do to Abel ? Contrary to bis
intention, he did him the greatest good, for he caused
St. Cyprian.
DeZelo.
ON ENVY AND JEALOUSY,
265
him to pass to a better and a blessed life, and he himself
was plunged into an abyss of woe. In what did Esau
injure Jacob ? Did not his envy prevent him from being
enriched in the place, in which he lived ; and, losing the
inheritance and the blessing of his father, did he not
die a miserable death ? What harm did the brothers of
Joseph do to Joseph, whose envy went so far as to wish
to shed his blood? Were they not driven to the last
extremity, and well nigh perishing with hunger, whilst
their brother reigned all through Egypt ?
It is ever thus; the more you envy your brother, the
greater good you confer upon him. God, who sees all,
takes the cause of the innocent in hand, and, irritated by
the injury you inflict, deigns to raise up him, whom you
wish to lower, and will punish you to the full extent of
your crime.
If God usually punishes those, who rejoice at the mis-
fortunes of their enemies, how much more will He punish
those who, excited by envy, seek to do an injury to those
who have never injured them ?
Envy is a gnawing pain which springs from the success
and prosperity of another ; and this is the reason why the
envious are never exempt, from trouble and vexation. If
an abundant harvest fills the granaries of a neighbour, if
success crowns his efforts, the envious man is chagrined
and sad. If one man can boast of prudence, talent, and
eloquence; if another is rich, and is very liberal to the
poor, if good works are praised by all around, the envious
man is shocked and grieved.
The envious, however, dare not speak ; although envy
makes them counterfeit gladness, their hearts are sore
within. If you ask him what vexes him, he dare not tell
St. Chrysostom.
Sermon 40.
266 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
the reason. It is not really the happiness of his friend
that annoys him, neither is it his gaiety that makes him
sad, nor is he sorry to see his friend prosper ; but it is,
that he is persuaded that the prosperity of others, is the
cause of his misery.
This is what the envious would be forced to acknow-
ledge, if they spoke the truth sincerely ; but because they
dare not confess so shameful a sin, they, in secret, feed a
sore which tortures them and eats away their rest.
As the shadow ever accompanies the pedestrian when
walking in the sun, so envy throws its shadow on those
who are successful in the world.
St. Basil.
De Invidia,
ON FLATTERY.
267
78.— Dn JTlatterp.
By the Author of " Guerre aux Vices,'
SS. Basil and Jerome.
»»
"It is better to be rebuked by a wise man, than to be deceived with flattery of
fools."— Ecclbsiastes vii. 6.
SlNS which flatter us are always the most dangerous,
because they please our self-love, and they favour the
inclination and humour of sinners. It is on this account
that there are few who distrust it, and fewer still who
guard against it. It is somewhat difficult to look upon
a vice, as an enemy, that so well knows how to flatter the
disorderly passions and the corrupt inclinations of our
nature.
St. Jerome says that flattery is always cunning and
insidious ; and indeed flattery is the most accommodat-
ing of vices. It is flattery that agreeably harmonises with
the feelings and inclinations of men, whether they are
good or bad, just or unjust, solely to humour them, while
the poison works within. It does the contrary of what
the Apostle did ; it is all to all, corrupting and seducing
those who put their trust in it ; and not only does it enter
into the inclination of sinners, but it advises them ever to
follow the disorderly motions of their pernicious passions
and interests, for their own gratification. It praises with
affected applause, the vicious and criminal actions of the
rich and powerful.
But the malice of such pernicious complacences go still
further, when it prefers to attack the good and just and
268
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
censure their virtues, notwithstanding the curse which this
draws down. " He that justifieth the wicked, and he that
condemneth the just, both are abominable before God,"
says the Book of Proverbs {chap, xvii.)
If you wish to know the evil effects of flattery, details
could easily be given ; but it may be said, in general terms,
that through this detestable flattery, truth is betrayed, minds
are seduced, the most upright hearts and intentions are
corrupted; it inspires a contempt for virtue, and a relish
for vice; it prevents sinners from being converted, and
confirms them in habitual sin ; and, to complete their ulti-
mate loss, it induces them to take a delight in bad actions,
which they hear so praised, Delectat ea facere, qua videmus
laudare, says St. Augustine.
Of all interested men, he who is the most selfish, is the
flatterer, because, although his praises cost nothing, still he
does not give his applauses for nothing. It is of little con-
sequence what profit he gains, so he can extract usurious
interest therefrom. For if he approves of the vices of
others, it is that they should not condemn his own. It is
indifferent to him, if he flatters that which is good, or that
which is bad, so that he sees a prospect of gaining some-
thing by it. If he employs his artifices to please the rich
and noble, he does it with the hope of securing their
favours or of obtaining their patronage. If he bestows his
praises on all sorts of people, he does it with the idea of
receiving something in return, or to obtain something he
has in view. And thus it is that flatterers corrupt and
seduce us.
To shield ourselves from one vice, we must take care
not to fall into another, and for fear of being taken for a
selfish flatterer, we must not in any way be cynical or
churlish. Those saints who have respectfully praised one
another were not flatterers. They have taught us that we
should esteem/ praise, and love virtue, and virtuous persons:
Digitized by
ON FLATTERY.
269
Bonce vitce et virtutis et solet et debet esse laudatio, says St.
Augustine.
The majority of good Catholics, being humble and
timid, require to be encouraged, to continue to be good,
by a just meed of praise which their virtue deserves, and
we should be convinced that there is no less injustice in
refusing praises to those who deserve them, than to flatter
those whose wicked conduct has rendered them unworthy.
This right medium consists chiefly in three things. The
first is, never to praise wicked and vicious persons, nor to
approve of their bad conduct, but rather to keep silent \i
pressed to give your opinion, declare frankly and with-
out exaggeration, in what such and such a deed, may be
approved of. Secondly, never to praise any one, except
for things that really deserve praise, and do this with all
sincerity. The third is, to be sparing of praise of good
people, in their presence, but to honour and praise them
highly when absent, when an opportunity occurs, when we
can do so without affectation.
Thus we should destroy flattery, and untruth, and we
should, at the same time, perform acts of justice and
charity.
St. Basil remarks that vices and virtues are so alike in
colour, that it is not always easy to discern the difference.
Prodigality, for example, has somewhat an air of magnifi-
cence; rashness imitates, by its fits and starts, the generous
impulses of valour ; hypocrisy has some outward resem-
blance to the exterior signs of devotion. This it is that
gives rise to the abuse of this resemblance, and that, by
two classes of persons, namely, the envious and the flat-
terers. The flatterer takes vices for virtues, and the
envious, on the contrary, takes virtues for vices. The
Guerre aux Vices.
270 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
flatterer, to shield the vices of the great, gives them the
colour of virtues, and the envious, to obscure the lustre
of virtues, gives them the colour of vices. If you are pro-
digal, the flatterer will say that you are magnificent; if
you are liberal, the envious will say that you are a pro-
digal. If you are rash, the flatterer will say that you are
generous and brave; if you are really courageous, the
envious will say that you are rash.
What does the flatterer mean by such false praises, but
to aggrandise himself and build up his fortune? What
do the envious mean, but to destroy that of others ?
St. Basil
Nothing so corrupts the heart and mind as flattery, for
the flatterer's tongue does more harm than the persecutors
sword. We are dragged downwards by an evil which is
inherent within us, we feel favourably towards those who
flatter us, and although in our reply we show, or pretend
to show, that we are unworthy of their praise, we never-
theless receive the flattering praise with a secret joy and
pleasure.
St. Jerome.
Epistle 121.
Digitized by
ON GAMBLING.
271
79.— £Dn (Gambling*
PfcRES Giroust and Bourdaloue.
" The people sat down to eat and drink, and then rose up to play."
—Exodus xxxii. 6.
Qaques Giroust, the Jesuit Father, was born at Beaufort, near
Anjou, in 1624, and died in Paris in 1689, aged sixty-five. His
manner of preaching, was simple, and void of display, but this very
simplicity, was accompanied with such earnest fervour, and unction,
that it won the hearts of all his audience, and was, through the help
of God, the means of many being converted to a new life.]
It is undoubtedly true, that all immoderate amusements
are sins ; and I am of opinion, that there is not one, from
whatever way we look at it, where you may not find
many irregularities arising therefrom. Why ? Well, we
shall see. Pleasures and amusements, are determined by
the result.
In reference to work, when it is finished, they may be
looked upon as relaxations, with regard to any heavy
labour we may have to perform, then such recreations
may be considered as preparations. They are then allow-
able, so far as they are necessary, either to refresh your
mind, or to give you additional strength.
Such is the extent. All that extends beyond, is against
God's view of them, and consequently forbidden.
Now, who does not often see that the gaieties of the
world are neither preceded by work, nor followed by hard
labour? They are sought for, for the love of the amuse-
ments alone, with no other view than that of tasting their
272 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
sweetness, or with the idea of leading an easy, agreeable
life, thus employing their whole time immoderately, or
without stint ; consequently it is this excess, which makes
it so culpable, and which, as it were, reverses the order of
Providence.
I acknowledge that there are certain games, which are
innocent, provided that they are not carried to excess.
Recreation is necessary for the mind as well as for the
body ; the one, to avoid too great a strain upon the brain ;
the other, to relieve constant fatigues.
But gambling, playing the whole day, and stealing away
the hours of night when repose and sleep are needed,
amusements which are the sole occupation when they
ought to occupy the least portion of our time here on
earth; in a word, gaieties which we notice in high life,
all such as these, I condemn. And have I not a right to
condemn them ? In them, I do not find the intentions of
God ; they are not even the teachings of nature. I do not
ask you if you live as Christians, but as men.
Amusements so paltry, so evanescent, were not made
for the purpose of clouding the intellect of a reasonable
man.
PERE GlROUST.
Advent Sermon.
You love gambling; it is this that destroys the con-
science, this inordinate love of play ; it is a mania which
is no longer an amusement, but a business, a profession, a
traffic, without stint or measure ; and, if I may dare to say
so, it is a mania, a madness, which drags you down from
one abyss to another deeper still : Abyssus abyssunt invocat.
From this passion, arise those innumerable sins of which
they are the consequence. From that mania, arise neglect
of our duties, misrule of home, pernicious example you
give to your children. From that proceed the squandering
Digitized by
ON GAMBLING.
273
away of your property, those unworthy meannesses, and,
if I may use the term, those trickeries, which proceed
from a greediness of gain. From this mania arise quarrels,
oaths, swearing, and despair when all is lost. From that
proceed those shameful resources, which you fancy that
you are forced to have recourse to. Lastly, from this
proceeds that dishonesty to seek for any excuse to supply
yourself with funds, to carry on the sinful game.
One excess brings on another. Excess in the time
employed in play, is attended by excess in the sums
played for. To play but seldom, yet when you do play,
to hazard much ; or to hazard a little, but play continually,
are two excesses, both of which are forbidden by the law
of God. But over and above these two excesses, there is
a third, which is, to play often, and every time you play,
to venture a large sum. Do not, however, mistake my
meaning, when I say play in which you hazard a large
sum. I speak not only of the great and the rich, but of
all in general, and each in particular, conformably to their
means and station in life. What is nothing for one, is
much for another. One may easily bear what would hurt
another ; and what for the former would be a small loss,
might have fatal consequences for the latter.
Nevertheless, men will play ; and it is a rule of life, a
rule to which they unalterably adhere; so that no con-
sideration can draw them from it. Cost what it will, they
will go on ; and for what purpose ?
• ••••••
Oh, my brethren, cut off this love of play. It is far
more easy to give it up entirely, than try to retrench it,
or leave it off by degrees. Quit it once for all, and make
a public avowal of it.
BoURDALOUfi*
S
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80.— Dn $artmesw of $eart
Bishop Mascaron, PfeRES Nouet
and Nepvue.
41 All the world is in extreme desolation, because there is no one who meditates
in his heart." — Jbrbmias xii. u.
[Jules Mascaron, the son of a celebrated barrister, was bora at
Marseilles in 1634. The richest inheritance that his father left him,
was his own forensic eloquence. Early in life he joined the Congre-
gation of the Oratory, and was soon made a professor of literature ;
but it was his extraordinary talent for preaching that gained him an
immense reputation.
This young orator, after having visited the principal cities in
France, proceeded to Paris. Louis XIV., who was not slow in recog-
nising talent, engaged him to occupy the pulpit in the Chapel Royal,
and it was at this time that the King presented him with the Bishopric
of Tulle.
His funeral orations are considered to be equal to those of Bossuet
and Flechier. In the year 1758, a Collection of Funeral Orations by
Bossuet, Flechier, and Mascaron was published, and the volume met
with great success. After some years of devoted attention to his
diocese, he appeared at the Court for the last time in 1694. Louis
XIY. was delighted to hear him again, and said to him, " You have
aged, but your eloquence is as young as ever."
This eminent prelate died on the 16th November 1705, aged sixty-
nine ; deeply regretted by all his clergy.]
St. Augustine compares the blindness of a soul to a
man who is asleep. When our eyes are shut during sleep,
we are blind ; nevertheless we see something, for though
our eyes are shut, our imagination is at work. We dream
that we are very rich, we fancy that we are living in the
lap of luxury ; in a word, we picture to our mind strange
ON HARDNESS OF HEART.
275
events. This is our case. We do not see things in the
right light; we do not hear the mute language that ought
to lead us up to God. No ! our imagination conjures up
fantastic phantoms.
We thought to have found true happiness in the wealth
and riches of this world, and they have vanished. We
sought for earthly joys, and these pleasures have become *
insipid.
When our soul is preparing to leave the body, then our
eyes will be opened, and we shall then feel and know our
terrible darkness.
Mascaron,
Bishop of Tulle.
St Augustine remarks that we are all born blind, be-
cause we are all born in sin. We are all born blind, and
the dimness of our sight, is the universal scar, which origi-
nal sin has imprinted on every heart, stifling the light of
heaven in its birth, and surrounding the aurora of life, in
the darkness of death.
Sin, which we inherit from our birth, leads us into an
obscure night, deprives us of the sight of the Sovereign
Good, and fills us with errors and illusions.
This blindness is so much the more to be deplored, be-
cause it grows with our growth, and being an original curse,
it becomes free and voluntary in its growth; so much so,
that our malice makes a personal crime out of an hereditary
punishment, and thus, it corrupts every stream that flows
from so poisonous a source.
It is the characteristic of sin to over-shadow every
action, whether it be the banishment of grace, which is the
light of the soul, or whether it blinds the understanding,
thus rendering it incapable of receiving the light of the
Holy Spirit, who abandons the sinner, and leaves him
exposed to all kinds of dangers and misfortunes.
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Oh ! unhappy darkness, exclaims St. Augustine, in
which I have lived. Oh ! frightful blindness, which has
hindered me from enjoying the light of heaven. Oh ! de-
plorable ignorance, which hid the beauty and infinite good-
ness of God. Oh ! beauty ever ancient, beauty ever new,
more brilliant than the light of the sun, would that I had
* known and loved you sooner ! Ah ! why cannot I hide
the many days and years in which I lived ? Oh 1 that I
could blot them out with my tears 1
PERE NOUET.
Meditations.
• ••••••
Hardness of heart leads to sad results. Light blinds or
dazzles a hardened heart, it does not enlighten it. The
just punishments of God, which weigh heavily on it, only
make it rebellious, and do not subdue it. The scourge
which God inflicts on it overwhelms, but does not humble
it ; miracles astonish, but do not convert it
Would you wish to know the sure marks of hardness of
heart ? St. Bernard will give them to us. A hardened heart,
he says, is a heart unbroken by remorse, unsoftened by
devotion, and unmoved by prayer. It yields to no threats,
which only harden it the more ; it is unmindful of all the
blessings of God, and unfaithful to grace. It blushes not
at things most shameful, heeds no danger, has no love for
brethren, no fear of God.
It forgets the past, neglects the present, and cares not
for the future. It forgets its duty, and finally forgets itself.
There is the picture of a hardened heart
How frightful ! how terrible !
Is it your heart ? If you have not all the marks, do you
not, on examination, recognise some few like unto them ?
Lb Pere Nepoue.
Reflections.
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ON HYPOCRISY.
?77
81.— £Dn $2P0Crf]$2-
BOURDALOUE
and the " Dictionnaire Moral"
" The hope of the hypocrite shall perish : he will himself condemn his own folly :
that in which he trusted is but a spider's web." — Job viii. 14.
The Pharisees were, as the Gospel represents, of a morti-
fied exterior, and piqued themselves on a strict observance
of the laws ; and relying on that, were filled with a self-
satisfied opinion of their own merit.
On this principle, they looked upon themselves as perfect
and irreproachable : In se confidebunt tanquam Justi. They
took pains to keep themselves aloof from others, arid be-
lieved themselves to be better than their brethren.
In their ordinary devotions, they fasted only to show
that they had fasted, and disfigured their features, so as to
attract the notice of the unsuspecting multitude.
Under the pretext of practising austerity, they assumed
a studied appearance of a well-governed life.
Thus, without any other title than a sanctimonious regu-
larity, they thought that they were entitled to occupy the
foremost places in all festivals and assemblies. These are
the marks of a false devotion and hypocrisy ; and to these
our Saviour alluded.
There are some who are willing to practise Christian
virtue, but at the same time, they wish to gain the credit.
Some who do not like to be unnoticed, but wish to make
a show, and to be different from others; they affect
humility, and do not associate with all.
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Whence comes it, that singularity is so sought after?
Because it is that which excites admiration, which is the
charm of vanity.
If there is anything out of the way, it is there that they
seek for it. And even in their penances, they wish to
attract notice.
Unlike St Augustine, who, when he was meditating his
conversion, wished to keep it secret, lest the world might
think, that his former wickedness was only a pretence to
show off his present virtue.
A parade of regularity and mortification, induces them
to usurp a certain kind of superiority, which neither God
nor man gives them. For after that, they set themselves
up as censors of all the world, and they, like to the Phari-
sees, consider themselves worthy of the highest places in
the Church and state. They unscrupulously meddle with
everything ; and, what is more dangerous, they, under the
pretence of piety, are not aware of their own failings, ind
so degenerate into an ambition, more criminal than that
with which the Son of God reproached the Pharisees.
BOURDALOUE.
If you wish to know the difference there is, between a
hypocrite and a just man, between showy and solid piety,
between human motives and Christian motives, — here are
some marks.
Human virtue seeks for witnesses who praise, and its
wish is to appear to be, than to be. True piety loves to
be hidden, contented with being seen by God, and with
the witness of its own conscience. Worldly goodness is
full of presumption ; there is no accident which it thinks
cannot be repaired, no obstacle which cannot be overcome;
whereas true virtue is ever mistrustful of self; it is never
rash, and is always anxious to avoid occasions of sin, or to
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ON HYPOCRISY.
279
fly from the presence of objects which may have been the
cause of former falls.
Human virtue is proud, overbearing, and contemptuous ;
it knows not what it is to yield, to be humble, or to obey ;
it looks down disdainfully on those who have no merit;
it examines with a critical malignant eye those who are
reputed to be good, and turning to itself, it is flattered
at possessing something out of the ordinary way.
True piety is humble and submissive, glad to be sur-
passed by others ; and if there be any rigour to exercise,
it is against itself; and if there be any indulgence, or con-
sideration to bestow, it is given to others.
Human goodness is interested ; self-interest is the main
motive of all its actions, so that if there is no fortune to
gain, no glory to establish, no reputation to preserve, such
goodness remains inactive, so long as self is not disturbed.
True virtue makes a man thoroughly disinterested, in his
reputation, in his worldly goods, in the contempt which
others display, in the praises which are showered down
upon him.
Finally, human virtue is fostered by pride, is constant
through obstinacy, liberal through vanity, honest through
interest, affable and mild through policy, and even humble
through a refinement of self-love.
All these false and imposing pretensions to virtue, not
having God in view, are like those empty titles, which
nobles, who having sold their lands, still preserve their
title and coats of arms.
Those people whom the world believed to be so gene-
rous, so faithful, so affable, so patient, so honest, so sincere,
are like unto handsome mausoleums, on the outside of
which are depicted representations of every virtue, and
inside you find a frightful corruption.
From the " Dictionnaire Moral?
28o
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BOURDALOUE.
€l Why stand you here all the day idle ? "
— Matthbw xx. 6.
THERE is, says Holy Writ, a great occupation, imposed not
on any one in particular, but on every one, and a heavy
yoke, which all the children of Adam are compelled to
bear. But where are these children ? Is there no excep-
tion to this universal law ? " From him that sitteth on a
throne of glory, unto him that is humbled in earth and
ashes" {Eccles. xl. 3).
The children of Adam include everybody, from royalty
to the meanest beggar, " from him that weareth purple
and beareth the crown, even to him that is covered with
rough linen."
This sentence excludes no one ; princes and grandees of
the world, are included with miserable wretches and with
slaves.
In fact, my dear brother, whoever you may be, I ask
you what dispenses you from work ? Is it because you
are high in the world, as if your grandeur could wipe out
the stain of your origin, or exempt you from that universal
curse which God has pronounced on the whole human
race, namely, to eat your bread with the sweat of your
brow?
But tell me, that high rank, that noble birth, that distin-
guished position which you make so much of, are they
higher than kings and sovereign pontiffs ?
Listen to the words of St. Bernard when he wrote to
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ON IDLENESS AND SLOTH.
281
the Pope Eugenius : — " I beseech you," said he, " with all
the respect I owe to your Holiness, not to consider that you
are raised above all the world, but take care that you are
born to work, aye, even more than others; and if you wish
to be exempt, you must first of all wipe out the stain of
original sin, which the lustre of your purple and your tiara
can never hide."
Consider, then, that a man who is born a slave, clothed
in the livery of sin, must only think of work, and endure
great fatigue, in order that he may better his condition in
this world.
If we come to the difference of sex, we shall see that
women are no less compelled to work, that they must busy
themselves in household duties, and however easy these
duties may appear, they must still be attended to. Solo-
mon, wise as he was, did not despise them, for after having
sought for a brave woman, and after he had found one, he
says, she put her hands to her work, and that she rejoiced
in laborious employments : Manum suatn misit ad fortia*
There is no condition of life among men where idleness
may not become a sin, and the higher the position, idleness
and sloth are the more guilty. For instance, a young man
of high connection, who remains idle in youth, without a
wish to cultivate his mind by learning, and acquire such
a knowledge requisite to prepare him for a post; when,
through influence, he may be appointed to a responsible
position, how will he acquit himself? God will not give
him an infused science, for that would be a miracle. What
will he do then? Why, he will be ignorant of the duties
of his profession; and if, for example, he becomes to be a
judge, he will judge badly.
Granted that he has the good intention of administering
justice ; from the want of legal knowledge he cannot, and
he will be responsible for all the losses and injury that
parties may have suffered. In addition to this, it is not
282 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
just and right, that he should learn experience at the
expense of others ; and however good his intention may
be, a poor man may perchance lose a lawsuit which will
deprive him of all his property. On this I cannot say too
much, for if he be judge, he has another kind of idleness
to battle with, and that is, he will not take the trouble to
examine into matters, for he loves his pleasures more than
the careful examination of right and wrong.
I should never finish, if I were to run through every
condition of life. I could say, that through idleness and
sloth it has happened that preachers and directors of
souls have acquitted themselves so badly, that their sloth
has produced frightful disorders in the functions of their
ministry.
I could also say much on the negligence of mothers,
a negligence which is the cause of the confusion we often
notice in households ; for when the mistress of the house
is fond of frequenting theatres, balls, &c, what are the
servants doing, and what will become of the children?
Instead of that, if she attended to her home duties, all
would go well ; her servants would do their duty, her
children would be instructed, and would not be brought
up, as they often unfortunately are, in idleness and sloth.
BOURDALOUE.
From his Lenten Sermons.
ON IGNORANCE.
*83
83.— Dn ignorance.
PfeRE La Font.
" For some have not the knowledge of God : I speak it to your shame. "
— i Corinthians xv. 34.
[Pierre De la Font, this zealous and charitable servant of God
was born at Avignon. He became Prior of Valabregue, and held also
a high office in the church of Uzes. Wishing to found a seminary in
the episcopal city, he resigned his priorship, in order to give his whole
time and attention to the college. Being elected the superior, he
wrote and published five volumes, called " Entretiens Ecclesiastiques^
for the instruction of his pupils. An extract from this book will be
found further on. (See Alphabetical List of Authors.)
This pious and learned ecclesiastic ended his career of usefulness,
at the commencement of the eighteenth century.]
If one could not sin through ignorance, it would be wrong,
says St. Bernard, to blame the persecutors of the Apostles
and Martyrs, since they did not believe that they com-
mitted wrong, by so cruelly putting them to death ; but,
on the contrary, they considered that they rendered a
great service to their gods by massacring their enemies.
It would also have been of little use that Jesus, hanging
on the cross, should have prayed for His murderers, since,
not knowing what they did, they were free from sin, and
that even, according to St. Paul, had they known the King
of Glory, they would not have nailed Him to the cross.
See, then, concludes this Father, into what a profound
ignorance, those were plunged, who believed that they
could sin through ignorance. From this, we must always
understand that a voluntary culpable ignorance arises from
a wanton negligence of being instructed.
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According to the teaching of St. Thomas, we have two
rules for our conduct and actions, namely, the law of God
and our own conscience.
Now, it is not enough, in order to constitute a good
action, that it should be conformable to one of these
rules; it suffices to render it bad, if it is opposed to one
of these two rules. Thus, one is not exempt from sin,
continues this saintly Doctor, when it violates any precept
of the law, even if it follows the judgment of a false
conscience.
And in this same sense St. Augustine says, that people
take that for good, which is in itself bad, and that to per-
severe in this erroneous belief, they are not free from sin,
since this false persuasion, is in itself a sin : Si quis bonum
putaverit esse quod malum est, et fecerit, hoc putando ubique
peccat (Epis. cliv.) And if you wish to know why this
error and ignorance is a sin, because one has not been
willing, or has neglected to know the law ; for if one is in
invincible ignorance, then that ignorance and that error,
being involuntary, would no longer be sin.
One cannot excuse from sin, those heretics who live
among Catholics, although they doubt not the truth of their
own religion, and although they think that they are in the
right path, because they have every means of clearing up
their doubts, and opportunities are not wanting to disabuse
them, if they really wished to be instructed in the faith.
But obstinacy joined to prejudice, convenience, and
advantages which they find in the state of life in which
they have been reared, or which they may have embraced
through debauchery, or through error, they persist in their
culpable ignorance.
Thus, when such as these, in their fancied security,
blaspheme against the true religion, which they look upon
as false; when they cry it down; when they pettily per-
secute the defenders of it, or revile them by cruel calumny,
ON IGNORANCE.
285
and inflict on them outrage and insult, they are not
exempt from sin, although they may have, through igno-
rance, been driven to excess, and by this means called to
their aid a false zeal, which is so opposed to the law of
God. This ignorance will never excuse them of all these
crimes, since it is an inexcusable sin to be a heretic,
and not take every means in their power to undeceive
themselves.
We must, however, remark, that the care required by
some who plead ignorance as an excuse, does not apply
to others, who need a more searching inquiry into the
truth.
If it only depended on some trivial point, such as if a
certain day was a feast-day or a fast-day, a competent
authority can be applied to ; and if there be some mistake,
it can be easily or readily explained. But when it refers
to a matter of equity, such as if a contract is usurious or
not ; or if it be permitted to expose to public view, engrav-
ings or pictures of scandalous nudities, then we ought not
to be content with consulting any one, who may be of our
own opinion.
When one has on hand an important lawsuit, does he
not apply to the ablest lawyer ? Or when we are seized
with a dangerous illness, do we not seek the advice of the
most experienced and cleverest physician ?
Can any one, then, look upon the laws of God, and the
precepts of the Church, as simply an invincible ignorance,
when they can be so easily explained, by simply taking
the same pains they employ in temporal affairs ?
To act otherwise, is simply to show a manifest indiffer-
ence for their eternal salvation.
Rev. Pere La Font.
Sixth after Pent.
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84.— jflDn 3fmmoDejBft attire, jFaafofon, etc.
"The attire of the body, and the laughter of the teeth, and the gait of the
woman, show what she is." — Ecclesiasticus xix. 29.
From whom do those women attract notice — women who
are of the world most worldly — women whose vanity leads
them to employ every artifice to attract remark and win
esteem? Is it from the good and pious? Oh, no! for
they look upon them with horror, seeing that they dis-
honour Jesus Christ and ruin His religion. Is it from
clever people? No, for they regard them with indigna-
tion, seeing that by their vain display they are anxious to
astonish, and take them by surprise. Is it from rakes and
libertines they seek esteem ? From these, doubtless, they
would rather fly than seek. Oh, if they only knew how
they speak of them, how coarsely they criticise them, their
confusion would be equal to their pride.
You show yourselves in public, ye worldlings, with all
that furniture of vanity. You do not even spare the
temple of the living God, whose sanctity should not be
violated by your luxuries, for the church was not built for
the display of all such vanities. We should appear therein
richly clothed with grace and virtue, not decked out with
gold and jewels. Nevertheless you attend church dressed
out as if you were going to a ball, or like actresses on the
stage, so careful are you to be noticed, or rather to be
laughed at, by those who see you.
St. Chrysostom and St. Cyprian.
ON IMMODEST ATTIRE, FASHION, ETC. 287
When divine service is over, and all are returning home-
wards, your vanities and follies, are the theme of their
conversation ; they forget the important instructions left
us by St Paul and the Prophets, and can only talk of the
value of your beautiful dresses and of the lustre of your
jewellery.
Tell us, I entreat, what are the useful advantages to
be drawn from these precious stones and from these
costly dresses? You tell me that you are satisfied with
yourself, and that you take delight in that magnificence.
But alas ! I ask what benefit you derive from your vanities,
and they only tell me of the harm they do.
There is nothing more deplorable, than to be ever running
after frivolous fashions, to take a pleasure in studying them.
Shameful and shocking must that slavery be, when its
golden chains are enjoyed.
How can a Christian female apply herself as she ought,
to any exercise of devotion or solid piety ? how can she
despise the follies of the age if she encourages a taste for
finery ? In time she will experience so great a distaste for
prayer, that she will not like to hear it named.
You will perhaps reply, that you have made yourself
admired by all who saw you. But this is an additional
misfortune, that these costly trinkets should have gone so
far as to feed your growing vanity and pride !
Is it not an evil most grievous to be overwhelmed with
cares so vain and restless, to neglect the beauty of the soul
and the love of one's salvation ; to fill one's self with pride,
vanity, and conceit ; to be, as it were, intoxicated with the
love of the world ; willingly to give up going to those
sacred places, where your thoughts should be raised to
God ; to have no fear of prostituting the dignity of your
soul, and subject that soul to things so base and so un-
worthy ?
You will perchance reply, that when you frequent assem-
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blies and promenades, every one turns round to look at you.
It is for that very reason, you should shrink from gaudy
attire, in order that you should not expose yourself to the
gaze of every man, that you should not give any one an
opportunity for making scandalous remarks.
Not one of those who gaze upon you, will hold you in
the esteem you imagine you haye secured. You will be
the laughing-stock of every one, and people will set you
down as a vain ambitious woman, as one who is wishing to
be admired, as one absorbed in the love and vanities of the
world.
Do you not tremble, ye gay and worldly women, at the
thought that, when our Lord and Saviour shall come to
{udge the living and the dead, He will bid you leave His
presence for evermore, and that He will thus reproach
you ?
Depart from Me, you are not My work, and I cannot
trace the least resemblance to your former self. The
paint, powder, false curls, and other vain appliances have
so altered and disguised you, that I cannot recognise that
you once belonged to Me. You will not be able to see
Me, disguised as you are by face, eyes, and features, so
utterly spoiled and disguised by My enemy the devil.
You have followed him; you have selected the brilliant
hues of the serpent's skin ; it is from your enemy you have
learned and kept those embellishments and fineries ; you
will be with him for ever and for ever. My kingdom is not
for such as you, and no part of it can you ever share with
St. Chrysostom.
Passim.
Me.
St. Cyprian.
De Habitu Virginum.
ON IMPURITY. 289
85.— £Dn 3fmpurftg*
St. Basil, and Peres Houdry and De la Rue.
" When concupiscence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin : when it is com-
pleted, begetteth death."— James l 15.
You will sometimes meet with old men, whose gravity and
age give them an appearance of severity, who are modest
in society, and who are much esteemed for their apparent
goodness, but who secretly and heartily indulge in every
sort of vice, which they carefully conceal from human eye.
They, in their imagination, picture objects which they
delight in; the idea flatters them, and leads them to indulge
in indelicate pleasures, unseen and unnoticed.
These sins are committed in the heart, and will there
remain hidden, until the coming of our Lord, who will
bring to light every dark mystery, and will expose to the
whole world, the secrets of the heart.
We must, then, particularly watch over our thoughts, for
deeds which spring from our free-will, require time, assist-
ance, and opportunity, but the workings of the brain are
active in a moment, without trouble, without hindrance,
without waiting for opportunity.
St. Basil.
• *••«••
Not only is this passion a sin, but it is the epitome of
every sin ; it includes sins of the eye, sins of word, sins of
thought, sins of desire.
As for sins of deed, who would dare to paint them ? I
have no wish to place so foul a sight before you.
Property, riches, talent, heart, will be, and on every pos-
sible opportunity are, all employed in its service.
T
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Desires are fondly cherished, when deeds cannot satisfy.
A lascivious man is a man of sin, because he dissemi-
nates sin, wheresoever he maybe; in everyplace, in public,
in private, in intrigues, &c.
The evils which impurity causes to those who indulge
in this vice, are numberless; it spares nothing; it under-
mines the health, and youth is soon succeeded by a
peevish, dissolute, premature old age.
There is no trouble they will not undertake, no consti-
tution they will not sacrifice, no amount of money they
will not squander away. Have they ruined their prospects
in life ? To indulge in luxury and continue to satisfy
their lustful desires, they will seek to find means at any
price.
But this vice is not content with being the cause of ruin
of families, but it haunts them in their dreams.
From this arise jealousies, divorces, and sad estrange-
ments. From this succeed assassination, murder, poison,
conspiracy, and all felonious plots, to supplant a dangerous
rival, or get rid of a jealous accomplice.
Meditate for a while on the scourges and punishments
which God has inflicted on this sin. Holy Scripture is
content to threaten other vices, but see how it inveighs
against, and casts a thunder-bolt on this.
The Deluge, was it not a punishment ? The burning of
a whole city, was it not the result of a just vengeance?
If this sin was the reason why God repented of having
created man, and made Him resolve to annihilate him, how
can you look upon it as a pardonable sin ?
The waters spread over the surface of the earth, flames
consume Sodom— do not these teach you that God is the
defender of purity, the avenger of incontinence ?
Is it that such sins should have become less enormous,
that God the Son deigned to be born of the Virgin Mary?
Ah! place before you the thought of St Augustine.
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ON IMPURITY.
291
"What! shall I purchase torments without end, for a vain
and transient pleasure ? Pleasures will pass away, but
eternity will never pass away ; pleasures vanish, but the
[Charles De la Rue was born in Paris in the year 1643. He
entered the Jesuit College and subsequently became Professor of the
Humanities and Rhetoric. He early distinguished himself by his
talent for poetry. In the year 1667 he wrote a long Latin poem on the
conquests of Louis XVI. ; this the great Corneille translated, and pre-
sented the Latin original and French versification to the King, who
was pleased to express his gracious approval
The learned Jesuit petitioned to be sent to the Missions in Canada,
but was refused, as his superiors deemed it best that he should work
out his salvation in France.
The published works of this illustrious Latin scholar are numerous.
He died in Paris in the year 1725, aged eighty-two.]
God speaking to Noah, told him that His spirit would
not dwell in man, because he was only flesh. Non per-
manebit spiritus meus in homine quia caro est. Neverthe-
less, I hear that the unchaste allege this as a reason, for
making this sin excusable — human weakness, which is only
flesh; but I say, that for this reason, immodesty and im-
purity will be punished by God.
It is for that, all should be more cautious and be not
without fear. Quia caro est It is for that, one ought to
seek for the help of that grace, which God has promised
to all. Quia caro est It is for that, that man, being so
weak and frail, should ever have recourse to prayer, to
occasional retreats, and to fly from all occasions of sin.
Quia caro est. It is for that, you should not rashly expose
yourself to temptation, or be found frequenting dangerous
places, where there are immodest eyes upon you. And
this for fear of losing the grace of the Holy Ghost, who
departs from the impure. Quia caro est.
penalty remains.1
Rev. Pere V. Houdry.
Rev. Pere De la Rue.
392 HALF-HOURS .WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
86.— flDn 3fngratttuDe.
St. Chrysostom, St. Ambrose,
and Bourdaloue.
' Of the ten lepers cured, there is no one found to return and give glory to God
but this stranger."— Luke xvii. 18.
It would be a monstrous ingratitude to receive daily many
blessings of the Divine Goodness, and not to acknowledge
your gratitude, if not in deeds, at any rate, in words and
canticles.
Besides that, if this gratitude is due to Him, it is no less
advantageous to ourselves. God has no need of us, but we
have every need of Him.
The thanksgiving which we offer to Him, adds nothing
to what He is, but it helps us to love Him more, and to
repose a greater confidence in Him.
For if the remembrance of benefits we have received
from men, induces us to love them more, there can be no
doubt, that meditating on the graces which Almighty God
has showered upon us, we should naturally feel more desire
to love Him, more prompt to obey Him.
St. Chrysostom.
• ••••••
We ought to imitate the liberality of the soil, which
repays, with usurious interest, the smallest seed, that is
sown therein. Holy Scripture compares an ungrateful
person to a field or vine, which remains barren if not care-
fully cultivated ; on the other hand, a grateful man is like
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ON INGRATITUDE.
293
a fruitful field, and which increases in value a hundred-
fold.
It is thus that we must act towards those from whom
we have received benefits, and not be like the ungrateful
and avaricious land, which retains the seed.
It is not every one who has the power of doing good,
but we can always show our gratitude, for ingratitude is
an unpardonable vice.
St. Ambrose.
St Bernard, pondering on the many graces which God
had bestowed upon him, and of His immense love for us
all, cries out : " O Lord, I have nothing to give you in return
for so many blessings I have received from Your merciful
goodness. When I look upon my own nothingness, f am
so confused that I dare not raise my eyes, but when I
consider that You are rich in Yourself, that You have no
need of me, and that You seek for my heart and not my
riches : ah ! I am quite consoled. When I see in the Gospel
that a poor woman, who drops two little pieces of money
in the poor-box, receives from Your lips more praises than
do those rich Pharisees, who place, therein, large sums, I
begin to hope.
" I have only two small pieces, and these are, my heart
and my body. You are the Master of the latter, take Thou
possession of the former. I give it to You ; it is Yours on
the principle of justice, love, and gratitude."
A faithful and truly grateful soul ought to imitate the
conduct of that prince mentioned in the Book of Esther,
where it is said that he wrote down, and kept an account
of all the services his brave followers had done for him
during his reign, in order that, by reading of them often,
he was forced to acknowledge them.
This is what a faithful soul should do, in order to remind
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Him of the many graces and favours God has bestowed
upon him, during the whole course of his life. Ah ! what
would such a soul do ? Would it not read over the list
with care, and ponder on it every day ?
See, here is the time when, by an especial grace, I was
called to fulfil duties in the Church or in the world. Here
are so many favours received ; here so many holy inspira-
tions ; here, so many good works ; here, so many averted
dangers ; in a word, here are so many benefits received.
Think of them, O my soul, and never forget them, and say
with the prophet : " I will bless my God for ever and ever,
and I will never cease to sing His praise." The last thought,
when I retire to rest, will be to thank God, and the first
prayer on awaking, shall be to bless Him.
If we closely examine the conduct of the greater portion
of sinners,, we would be easily convinced that there are
gifts »and blessings of God, which are made use of for the
purpose of adding to their sins. If God has given extra
beauty to that woman, to what use does she devote it ?
Alas! to idolise her body, and to draw around her a crowd of
admirers. If God has given health and strength to that man,
of what use are they to him ? for he destroys them both
with debauchery and vice.
If to another has been given the gift of knowledge and
science, does he not use them to disseminate his own
erroneous opinions, or to impugn the dogmas of our holy
mother the Church ? If to another, fortune and riches,
are not these squandered away in pleasure or ambition ?
And thus it is with other gifts, which are all received
from heaven.
BOURDALOtfE.
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ON INTEMPERANCE.
295
87-— flDn intemperance*
PERES DE LA COLOMBIERE and HOUDRY,
and St. Ambrose.
••Woe to you that rise up early in the morning to follow drunkenness, and to
drink till the evening, to be inflamed with wine."— Isaias v. ix.
A REASONABLE man eats in order to give strength to his
body, lest its weakness might have an effect on his mind ;
but those who are addicted to intemperance, eat even to
clouding their intellect and ruining their body. They eat
merely for the sake of eating. There are some people
whose body is of no use to the intellect (unlike the saints,
who complained of having a body, which occasioned so
much trouble to the mind); such as these would like to be
deprived of the qualms of conscience, in order to partake
of the pleasures of beasts, pleasures they constantly seek
and sigh for.
They do not eat to live, since nothing is so pernicious to
health as excess in delicacies and made dishes, and nothing
is so conducive to a healthy and long life as a frugal and
well-regulated table.
Is it that we are slaves of our body, and that everything
ought to be sacrificed to gratify that insatiable animal ?
One ought to take food as one would take remedies.
Necessity ought to rule our inclination, so as to free us
from the inconvenience of hunger, and not that concupi-
scence which lays a snare in the pleasure that follows;
that solace, which we seek for, in eating and drinking.
Thus we do, for this single pleasure what we ought to
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do through necessity ; from this follows that we seek to
deceive ourselves, persuading ourselves that we owe to our
health what we give to the passion of intemperance.
Rev. Pere de la Colombiere.
Christian Reflections.
• ••*•••
All the Doctors of the Church tell us that that state of
intoxication, which deprives us of grace and reason at the
same time, is a mortal sin.
It is this that St Augustine calls a great sin, a monster
of crime; in fact, it is a brutal stupidity and a wanton
blindness to sell (like another Esau) one's right to the
inheritance of heaven, the hope of an eternal happiness,
for the sake of some glasses of wine ; rivalling that madman
who sold his claim to the paternal estate for a few lentils,
to satisfy his inordinate appetite.
But St. Paul expressly names it, and places the vice ol
drunkenness on the list of those sins, which are excluded
from heaven. Nolite errare, do not be deceived, says he;
do not flatter yourself that it is a venial sin : " Drunkards
shall not possess the kingdom of heaven " (i Cor. vii.)
In a former chapter he says, that this kingdom and
happiness which are destined for us, are not intended for
those who eat and drink. Those, therefore, who pamper
their appetites, those who are slaves of intemperance, have
no claim or right.
Drunkenness is the source of an infinite number of sins,
but among those which are its boon companions the most
universal is, that of impurity. Take heed and avoid drink-
ing to excess, says the Apostle (Ephes. v.), because it
infallibly enkindles the shocking vice of impurity. Again,
it is St. Jerome who says, that he who is always full of
wine is easily led to the commission of shameful brutali-
ties, and he confirms this truth by quoting the example of
Loth : Quern Sodoma non vicit vina vicerunt. What more
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ON INTEMPERANCE.
297
astounding than to see a man who was preserved in inno-
cence in the centre of the city of Sodom ; he drinks a little
too much wine, and commits a frightful incest.
A man addicted to wine, says St. Chrysostom, is fit for
nothing, for of what use is such a man? Would he be
able to keep a secret ? Two or three glasses of wine
would make him so talkative that he would reveal every-
thing. How could you confide an affair of importance to
him ? No ! says the saint, such a man is useless, he is fit
for nothing, he is a fool, he must be left to himself, he
does not deserve a thought: Ebriosus ad omnia negotia
ineptus. This same Father represents the ugliness and
infamy of this vice in such animated language that strikes
one with horror. How shameful is intoxication, he ex-
claims ; can any one imagine a man more despicable than
he who is habitually tipsy ? He lowers himself in the eyes
of his servants, it makes him a laughing-stock to his ene-
mies, and even his friends put him down as a fooL All
look upon him as an object deserving of the contempt and
hatred of all.
If there be any here who are addicted to this vice, hear
the words which the Prophet Joel addresses to you on the
part of God : " Awake, ye that are drunk, and weep and
mourn, all ye that take delight in drinking sweet wine;"
arise from your negligence, at the sound of the threats of
the anger of God ; weep and send up your sighs to heaven,
in order to avert His justice, which is ready to deliver
the world from a useless burden and a scandal to all men.
Instead of drowning your intellect in wine, apply it to
more serious work ; avoid the impending misery, and hence-
forth lead a life more worthy of a man and a Christian.
Give up a habit which renders you unfit to associate with
men. Detest a vice which is as odious as it is wicked ;
fly from the society of those who encourage and join you
in those unworthy debaucheries, dissipations which will
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easily lead to the loss of honour, health, the life of your
body, the loss of your soul, and eventually drag you to the
gates of eternal perdition.
" Woe to you that rise early in the morning to follow
drunkenness, and to drink till the evening, to be inflamed
with wine," says the Prophet Isaiah ; and St. Paul says,
that such people have no other god but their belly, which
is as much as to say that they are idolaters, for they make
a god of their own body for no other purpose than that of
satisfying an inordinate appetite, and thus idolising their
stomach.
The misfortune of this kind of men is such, that the
Apostle, with tears in his eyes, can only deplore their
blindness and look upon their misery as meriting God's
vengeance : Nunc autem et fiens dico, inimicos cruets Christi,
quorum finis interitus, et gloria in confusione ipsorum.
PfeRE Houdry.
• ••••• •
Excess in eating and drinking has killed many a man,
frugality has killed no one ; immoderate use of wine has
injured many a constitution, temperance has never done
any harm. Many have died in the midst of banquets, and
have soiled the very tables with their heated blood.
You invite your friends to a feast, and you lead them
to death; you ask them to a merry-making, and you
conduct them to a tomb ; you promise them the greatest
delicacies, and you condemn them to the most exquisite
tortures; you fill them with wines, and lo! it is their
poison.
St. Ambrose.
De Jejuma.
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ON LYING AND TRICKERY,
299
88.— flDn JLgtng anH Crtcfcerg*
PERES HOUDRY, HELIODORE,
and St. Augustine.
(i God hateth a deceitful witness that uttereth lies.' —Proverbs vi. 19.
u Let no man overreach nor circumvent his brother in business."
— Thkssalonians iv. 6.
We have in the New Testament, several examples of
duplicity and trickery.
The dissimulation and pretended concern Herod the
Ascalonite displayed to the Three Kings, when he asked
them to return to Jerusalem, and tell him where the
Messiah was born, so that he might go and adore the new-
born King. As he fully intended to murder the Infant
Jesus, this lyirjg deceiver will cause the name of Herod to
be held in horror, for all ages.
The second Herod, called the Tetrarch, was the successor
of the first, and was the Governor, when Jesus was sent to
be tried. He was a man full of deceit, and our Lord gave
him the name of the fox, to work his cunning and duplicity;
and far from wishing to perform miracles before him, our
Saviour did not deign to answer him a word.
The most evident punishment that God has ever exer-
cised on those who fail in sincerity, and use a lying deceit,
was that of Ananias and Sapphira, related in the fifth
chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. They, having sold
their piece of land, and having, by fraud, kept back part of
the price of the land, contrary to the promise they had
made to bring the whole.
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Their bad faith cost them their lives. They were mas-
ters of the money, which they could have kept without
injustice ; but because they told untruths, and agreed to-
gether to tempt the Spirit of the Lord, they were punished
for their deceit
Rev. Pere V. Houdrv, SJ.
• • • • • • •
One of the strongest reasons that can be urged against
lying, is, the infamous consequences that accrue from such
a habit
A lie covers its author with confusion, and a man who
has acquired the habit of telling falsehoods, becomes in
fact the universal horror of all who know him. Because
a lie usually precedes many other vices, it makes use of
candour and truth only through motives of avarice, pride,
jealousy, impurity, impiety, or some other sin ; consequently,
these can only proceed from a mass of corruption.
These are the reasons why we have so bad an opinion
of liars, and this is why the Holy Scripture describes the
liar, as a foul blot and an everlasting shame.
Now, you who cannot endure to be charged with prac-
tising this vice ; you who would expose your life and salva-
tion, and impel you to wipe out the implied reproach with
your blood, if the law did not put a stop to your blind
fury ; you who blush and are ashamed that men should
know what you cannot endure to be charged with ; listen
to and reflect on the threats and judgments of the God of
truth, for He has so great a horror of lying and deceit, that
He has said : Perdes omnes qui loquuntur mendacium.
It would take up too much space to give all the reasons,
which would induce us to give up lying and deceit It is
sufficient to know that the lie increases other greater sins;
that it lessens the simplicity of virtue, and it scandalises
truth. Avarice is rendered more criminal, when in order
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ON LYING AND TRICKERY.
3oi
to secure or purchase another person's property, it makes
use of a false oath; pride is more sinful when it circulates
false reports in order to gain the approbation of some, or
to avoid some affront. Hatred is rendered more intense,
when it forges imaginary crimes, in order to deprive the
innocent of their honour. Heresy is more detestable, when
it designedly misinterprets the sense and meaning of Holy
Scripture, the Fathers and the precepts of the Church.
Virtue loses its simplicity, when deceit is introduced.
Humility is not entirely innocent, if it induces a man to
lie in order to hide his perfection. Mercy becomes sinful,
if it excite a man to make use of a falsehood for the
purpose of giving relief to the poor, or with the intention
of checking the vices of his neighbour. Justice partakes of
injustice, when by use of an untruth, it ascertains the truth
of an important fact
Other virtues cannot possibly preserve their purity, how-
ever good the intention may be, if a lie or a deceit be made
use of.
Father Heliodore of Paris (Capuchin).
• ••••••
When the tongue says one thing, and the heart means
another; this is deceit, and a lie.
If through humility you circulate a lie, if you had not
committed a sin of lying before, you become, by lying,
what you were not before, a sinner.
The sin of lying is not solely committed by word of
mouth, but by deeds designedly carried out for the purpose
of deceiving. It is a lie to call yourself a Christian, when
you do not practise the works of Jesus Christ.
St. Augustine.
Enchiridon.
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89.— flDn PtojBfpedtg, itief £>anget#, anti
PtojaipentB of tfce (GaicfceD.
St. Augustine and Massillon.
"Why then do the wicked live? Are they advanced and strengthened with
riches? Their houses are secure and peaceable, and the rod of God is not upon
them." — Job xxi 7-9.
The continued prosperity of sinners, is the greatest of all
misfortunes for them. The less our Lord disturbs their
torpor, the more He punishes them after. It is at that
time that vicious habits increase in power day by day;
it is then that they indulge themselves the more, that
they delude themselves, that they are blinded more and
more, to the important interests of their salvation.
But the mad multitude do not reason thus. According
to the idea of the majority, the world is pleased when the
greater part of common people are like princes through
good fortune, although they would be poor, and the very
reverse of pious ; when theatres are thriving, although
religion may be despised ; when luxury attracts the notice
of all, although Christian charity would be neglected;
when the dissolute, well nigh exhaust the well-filled purse
to satisfy their excessive wants, although the poor can
find none to relieve their extremest need.
Nevertheless, if God permits these disorders to reign
in the world, be sure that at that time, He is the more
irritated against us. His most terrible vengeance is to
leave for a while crimes unpunished.
If, on the contrary, He deprives us of every kind of
luxurious pleasure, of good living, of theatres and other
amusements, of the extravagance of the age, it is then He
manifests to us His mercy.
St. Augustine.
From his Fifth Letter to Marcellinus.
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ON PROSPERITY, ETC.
303
Opportunities and all exterior things contribute to with-
draw the prosperous man from the way of salvation, and
these are for him so many obstacles, too difficult for a soul
accustomed to effeminacy to surmount. Everything con-
curs to feed and cherish vices in his heart, more especially
the most dangerous passions, and a crowd of objects
fascinates his every sense.
Those miserable parasites of the fortune of a great man
make a study of his weaknesses, and neglect nothing
which can give him pleasure ; theatres, games, acquaint-
ances, flatteries, intrigues cleverly begun, and as cleverly
carried out, nothing is forgotten ; each one seeks to take
him by surprise, and each one glories when that success
is gained.
These flatterers who gather round about him, studiously
contrive to bring fresh incentives to feed his passions.
Thus everything concurs to make even the contented
forget that there is a holy and a happy land, to which
they ought to aspire to reach.
It is here, O Lord, that I adore Thy secret judgments;
for, seeing on the earth the good in trouble, and the wicked
laden with the blessings of prosperity, the one in misery,
the other in plenty, the one in poverty, the other in pro-
sperity, it cannot be wondered at, that I should be surprised
at a sight which appears to be so contrary to Thy wise
and just providence. When I see the splendidly garnished
table of the proud rich man, whilst a poor Lazarus begs
for the crumbs which fall from his table, and is even
cruelly refused ; when I see so many unworthy wretches,
superabundantly supplied with all that contributes to ease
and comfort, whilst so many good and honest people are
in want of even the necessaries of life, I confess to Thee,
says the Prophet, that my feet shake under me, and I am
tempted to question Divine Providence for showing too
much indulgence to the wicked, and too much harshness
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to the good, or that I should go so far as to accuse Thee
of injustice.
For why, I say to myself, should that man, who is only
nominally a Christian, and a heathen in his manners and
actions — why does he enjoy an easy life, a peace here on
earth, whilst the faithful and pious man groans and sighs
under the weight of his miseries ? Why should everything
smile on the rich unjust ? The princely treasures are only
open for him, every luxury shines for him, the hail and
storm do not injure his lands, the earth, the sky, the
elements, seem to contribute to the joy and pleasure of
the sinner, while the good poor man dwells here on earth,
helpless and unassisted ; and whilst the former is well nigh
satiated with the best of everything, the good man sees
himself alone and abandoned by all, despised by the
world, and deprived of help.
Do not fall into the fatal error of believing that worldly
prosperity may be a favour which God grants to His
favoured ones. God often, in His anger, gives riches
and honours which are prayed for, and He grants them
by punishing, says St. Augustine. He would have des-
tined you to live a retired life in humility and lowliness,
in order to lead you, by those means, to the height of
glory; but you have obstinately rejected His merciful
intentions, you have mapped out your own way of life,
and, intoxicated with success, you have tried to subject
His will to your own ; you have made your own choice!
He grants what you ask for, and He hears you in His
anger. Riches, honours, dignities, fortune, grandeur, suc-
cess, and robust health are yours for a time; all these,
however, are given to you as a punishment
Massillon.
From a Sermon on Prosperity*
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ON RASH JUDGMENTS. 305
90.— flDn BajBff) JuUgment
SS. Francis de Sales, John of God, and Augustine,
and L'Abb£ de la Trappe.
" Judge not, that you may not be judged : for, with what judgment you judge»
you shall be judged. —Matthew vii. x.
"JUDGE not, and you shall not be judged," says the Saviour
of our souls : " Condemn not, and you shall not be con-
demned" (St. Luke vi. 37). No, says the holy Apostle
(1 Cor. iv. 5), "Judge not before the time, until the Lord
come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of
darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the
heart"
Oh, how displeasing are rash judgments to God ! The
judgments of the children of men are rash, because they
are not the judges one of another, and therefore usurp to
themselves the office of our Lord. They are rash, because
the principal malice of sin depends on the intent of the
heart, which is an impenetrable secret to us. They are
not only rash, but also impertinent, because every one has
enough to do to judge himself, without taking upon him
to judge his neighbour.
In order to our being hereafter judged, it is equally
necessary we should refrain from judging others, as to be
careful to judge ourselves. For as our Lord forbids the
one, so the Apostle enjoins the other, saying, that if we
judged ourselves we should not be judged.
But, O Good God! we act quite the contrary; for by
judging our neighbour on every occasion, we do that
U
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which is forbidden ; and by not judging ourselves, we
neglect to put that which we are strictly commanded into
practice.
We must apply remedies against rash judgments, ac-
cording to their different causes. There are some hearts
naturally so sour, bitter, and harsh, as to make everything
bitter and sour that they receive, turning judgment, as the
Prophet Amos says, into wormwood, by never judging their
neighbour, but with rigour and harshness.
Some judge rashly, not through harshness, but through
pride ; imagining, that in the same proportion as they de-
press the honour of other men, they raise their own. " I
am not like the rest of men," said the foolish Pharisee
(Luke xviii. n).
Others to excuse themselves to themselves, and to as-
suage the remorse of their own consciences, willingly judge
others to be guilty of the same kind of vice to which they
themselves are addicted, or of some other as great; think-
ing that the multitude of offenders make the sin the less
blamable.
Others judge through passion and prejudice, always
thinking well of what they love, and ill of what they hate.
In fine, fear, ambition, and other such weaknesses of the
mind, frequently contribute towards the breeding of sus-
picious and rash judgments.
St. Francis de Sales.
Devout Life,
[St. John of God was born in 1495, in a small town in Portugal
called Monte Major-el-Novo. His parents were so poor that he was
compelled to work as a servant. A sermon he heard from the blessed
John of Avila so moved him, that he resolved to consecrate the
remainder of his life to God and His poor. The zeal of this Saint
overcame every obstacle. He began his work in a small house in
Granada, and from this poor dwelling, arose a magnificent hospital
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ON RASH JUDGMENTS.
3<7
which exists to this day. It was there, that St. John laid the first
foundation of an Order which was approved of by St. Pius V. in 1572.
The Life of this grand Saint by Canon Cianfogni has been ably
translated under the editorship of the Rev. Father John Bowden, and
is published by R. Washbourne.]
How dare we judge others? Circumstances are so
varied, that it is almost impossible that we should not
make a mistake. It is the magistrate's duty to judge the
guilty; our duty, as regards our neighbour, is ever to take
the defensive side.
Nothing shows the wisdom and truth of those words
from Holy Writ, "Judge not, and you will not be judged"
—"Condemn not, and you will not be condemned" — as
the injustice and rashness of our judgments.
To judge, we must know the heart of the person accused,
and this is a sanctuary reserved for God alone.
Ah ! if we only knew our own shortcomings, we should
rather accuse and judge ourselves.
St. John of God.
• • •••••
It is the ordinary custom of those who have not within
them the Spirit of God, to be scandalised at the most
virtuous and edifying of actions.
This we see in the Gospel of St. Luke, u A sinner, know-
ing that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought
an alabaster box of ointment, and standing behind at His
feet, she began to wash His feet with her tears." This
woman outwardly displayed her love and respect; she
threw herself at the feet of the Son of God, full of grief,
incapable of fear, and pierced with a lively sorrow for
having offended Him.
Such were the feelings with which our Lord had in-
spired her.
However, the Pharisee formed a rash judgment ; for he
said, " This man, if he were a prophet, would know surely
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who and what manner of woman this is that touched Him,
that she is a sinner."
But the Saviour, who knew her better, judged otherwise;
for she had blotted out her iniquities by the abundance of
her tears, by the excess of her love, and by her contrition.
Amando veritatem, lavit lachrymis maculas criminis.
This is an example which ought indeed to be consoling
to those who, in actions which they have performed for the
honour and glory of God, may have drawn upon them-
selves rash and false judgments, censure, and condemnation
of others,
L'Abbe de la Trappe.
Reflections.
• • • • • •
Rash judgment seldom hurts the one upon whom it falls,
but the one who judges rashly, cannot fail to injure himself.
There are two things we should guard against in forming
rash judgments; the first is, when it is uncertain from what
motive, such and such a thing may have been done; the
second is, when we cannot foresee what may, one day, be
the state of that man, who now appears to be, either good
or bad.
St. Augustine.
On the Sermon on the Mount.
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ON SCANDAL.
309
91— jflDn ©cantoal
Bourdaloue, St. Cyprian, and
Pere Houdry.
*' It must needs be that scandals come ; but, nevertheless, woe to that man by
whom the scandal cometh." — Matthew xviiL 7.
SCANDAL is a diabolical sin, and the reason which St.
Chrysostom gives us is conclusive enough. For (accord-
ing to the Gospel) the particular characteristic of Satan is,
that he was a murderer from the beginning : Ille homicida
erat ab initio; and he has not only been a homicide, con-
tinues this holy Doctor, but because, from the beginning of
the world, he has been the cause of souls being lost by
seducing them, by drawing them into snares, by making
them yield to temptation, by putting every obstacle in the
way of their conversion.
Now, is not this the constant employment of the liber-
tine, the vicious man, the man swayed by the spirit of
debauchery, seeks on all sides (if I may dare to use the
expression) for an easy prey for his sensuality? What
doth he besides, and in what is his scandalous life taken
up? Is it not in deceiving and damaging souls, in
taking advantage of their weakness, in imposing on their
simplicity, in making the most of their imprudence, in
flattering their vanity, in undermining their religion, in
triumphing over their modesty, in dissipating their, just
fears, in rendering ineffectual all their good desires ? Is it
not in keeping them from the ways of God, when, touched
with His grace, they become conscious of their misery, and
sincerely desirous of recovering their innocence ?
Are not these, O sinner, the deeds of darkness in which
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your infamous life is spent ? Is it not then the employ-
ment of the devil in which you have been engaged ?
You do, then, the office of the evil one, and all the more
dangerously, because they whom you scandalise, being
accustomed to be led by the senses, are the more exposed
to your baneful insinuations, and more impressed by them,
since you move amongst them a visible and incarnate
demon. The devil was, of himself, a murderer from the
beginning, but is a murderer through you. It is you who
are his deputy, who furnish him with weapons, you who
carry on his work, you who, in his place, have become the
tempter, the murderer of souls, by sacrificing' these unfor-
tunate victims to your passions and pleasures : Ille homi-
cida erat ab initio.
BOURDALOUE.
Advent Sermon,
• ••••••
St. Cyprian, who lived in the third century, in explain-
ing the reason why God permits that His own should be
persecuted, gives us a picture of the manners and customs
of his time.
Bellarmin, in his work " On the Sighs of the Dove,"
quotes the whole passage, and says : " Would to God that
we had not reason to bewail the same scandalous practices
in our time."
Each one thinks only of enriching himself ; and forgetting
what the first Christians had done at the time of the
Apostles, and what they ought always to do, they cherished
so great a longing for riches, that they fancied that they
nevqr could accumulate sufficient There was no devotion
in the priests, no faith in the ministers of the gospel, no
regularity in their manners, no charity in their works.
The women painted their faces, the men knew how to
change the colour of the hair, and they quite made an
art of dyeing. You could detect something approaching
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ON SCANDAL.
3"
to lasciviousness in their eyes and looks, and so careful
was their studied talk, that they sought to impose on the
simple, and tried to deceive each other.
They swore not only unnecessarily, but falsely. They,
with insupportable conceit, despised the orders of their
superiors. They had no fear of slandering their neigh-
bour, and they in their hearts cherished mortal hatreds.
Several prelates, who ought to have induced people to
be pious by showing a good example, neglected their
duty, quitted their dioceses, abandoned their flocks, and
went into far-off countries in order to carry on a business
that was mean and unworthy of them. They took no
heed of the pressing wants of the few that were faithful.
Their only endeavour was to amass riches, to deprive
others of their lands, and 'to multiply their wealth by
usury,
St. Cyprian.
• ••••••
There is nothing that St. Augustine deplores more, in
his Confessions, than the misery of the bad example he
had followed, when a youth. He was naturally inclined to be
good, he had even received a sufficiently good education, and
he confesses, without flattery or vanity, in a book in which
he seeks his own confusion, that he would have never com-
mitted the atrocities of a dissipated, ill-regulated life, had
it not been for the bad example that his companions had
given him. Here are the words he uses : " O friendship,
worse than the most cruel enmity, which seduced my mind,
and dragged me on to sin — ' Let us go ' — ' Let us do ' —
still dinning incessantly in my ears so vividly, that it is
shameful to have some shame for acting so ill."
We have, in the words and experience of this glorious
saint, an example and an evident proof of the boldness
and impudence which ever accompany scandal.
Le Pere Vincent Houdry, S.J.
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HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
92.— £Dn ©elfclLcrtje*
Peres Louis de Grenada, Camaret,
and St. Augustine.
" He that loveth his life, shall lose it ; and he that hateth his life in this world,
keepeth it unto life eternal."— John xii. 25.
ORIGINAL sin gave birth to the tyrannical empire of love
of self, and it so poisons an ill-regulated mind, that it loves
naught else but self, and even ignores God.
St. Thomas says, that this false love is the root of every
sin committed from the beginning of the world, and that
it is the source and cause of all that is most miserable.
This is very true, since it is sinful self-love alone, that
makes us desire all inordinate affections, for the enjoy-
ments here below, and makes us forget God, and the
observance of His commandments.
Every kind of misery we see in the world, springs from
the root which ripens on this infectious tree.
From this, arises that anxiety which men manifest for
their own affairs, and for that negligence of all that apper-
tains to God. From that, comes that delicacy on all points
of honour, whilst they think little of God's honour.
It is this, that so interests them in all that is for their
worldly advantage, and makes them so indifferent to the
service due to God.
No work is deemed too difficult, if it be for their tem-
poral welfare, while for God, they take no pains. The
loss of a slight temporal advantage drives them nearly
wild ; but they have no thought of losing their immortal
souls. The love of pleasure fosters a distaste for all that
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ON SELF-LOVE.
313
is good ; in fine, they labour incessantly for success in this
life, and never prepare for the life to come.
Louis de Grenada.
Meditations, vi.
• •••••
The difference between self-love and charity, is shown
by the movements and workings of each.
1. Self-love showeth that he neglects nothing that may
reflect on himself, on the good he has done ; he wishes to
be secretly admired, and hears of the praises of others
with contempt; whereas charity praiseth and admireth
virtue in others, as something out of the common; and if
it be reflected on himself, he looks upon himself as an
object worthy of the vengeance of Heaven.
2. Self-love is violent, impetuous, fantastical, and im-
perious; he wishes to command and to be obeyed. In
the place of this, charity, according to the Apostle, is mild
and meek; it yields easily to others, and awaits with
patience for success, which, if not obtained, blesseth those
who persecute him.
3. Self-love is always wrapped up in self. If he go
out of the way to do some virtuous action, he does it to
draw down praises he may receive, or, at any rate, hopes
to receive.
4. Self-love looks after his own interest, does nothing
but what may accrue to his advantage ; instead of that,
charity does not seek its own, but looks only to God's
interest.
5. Self-love is singular; it wishes for out-of-the-way
things, particular devotions ; loves and seeks for distinction ;
whereas charity flies from all kinds of singularity, and
wishes for nothing particular.
6. Self-love in devotion seeks for sweetness, and when
that fails, feels discouraged ; but charity seeks for the will
of God alone, and on this will he depends.
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We must watch continually over ourselves, and over
every movement of the will, to repress a number of selfish
frailties, which, on examination, will be found to be as
minute as they are continuous.
There are so many petty interests which centre in self,
even among those who are pious, that it is incumbent
upon us, to be ever on our guard.
There are so many little meannesses which overshadow
our best actions, which, if encouraged, will diminish merit,
and be the cause of attempting much, but advancing very
slowly.
Men, for the most part, flatter themselves that they
seek God alone, but they search for Him through the
medium of self ; and they prefer ease and reputation,
and thereby encourage secret pride and self-love.
PfeRK Camaret.
• ••••••
Two loves, one good, the other bad, one sweet ; the other
bitter ; the two cannot agree, or dwell together in a sinner's
heart It is this, therefore, if any one loves aught but
Thee, O Lord, Thy love is not in him.
Doubtless it is a grand and wholesome doctrine how to
guard against that self-love which is so capable of being
your ruin, and with what hatred you should hate yourself,
if you wish to escape from eternal punishment If you
love yourself with an inordinate love, then you should
hate yourself indeed ; if you cherish a proper hatred of
yourself, then you have a proper love of yourself.
Do not then love yourself in this life, lest you lose your
soul in the life to come.
St. Augustine.
On John L 4.
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ON THEATRES, BALLS, ETC
315
93.— jflDn flpbeatresf, 'Balfe, etc*
FfeNELON, St. Francis de Sales, and
Lanctantius.
" He that loveth danger shall perish in it."— Eccles. iii. 27.
[F^nelon, Archbishop of Cambrai, was born of a rich and noble
family, at Perigord, on the 6th of August 165 1. His uncle, the Marquis
of F^nelon, brought him up as his own son, superintended his educa-
tion, and sent him to the Abbe* Trouson, the Superior of Saint Sulpice
in Paris. At the age of twenty- four, he took holy orders, and under-
took the arduous duties of parish priest of Saint Sulpice. Three years
after his ordination, the Archbishop of Paris intrusted him with the
direction of the Nouvelles-Catholiques. In 1689, Louis XIV. confided
to him the education of his grandchildren, the Dukes of Burgundy,
Anjou, and Bern, and rewarded his services by nominating him to the
Archbishopric of Cambrai.
It would occupy too long a space to enumerate his many excellent
works, to treat of his misunderstanding with Bossuet, to tell of his
humble submission to the Holy See, &c, &c The " Life of Fe*nelon,"
by M. De Bausset, published in 1817, in four vols., is replete with
interest. This illustrious prelate died on the 7th of January 171 5,
aged sixty-three. No one more deplored his loss than did Pope
Clement XL, who intended to send him the Cardinal's cap.]
FENELON, in his " Christian Instruction for the Education
of Young Ladies," quotes the opinions of the early Fathers
of the Church on this subject. He says —
St. Augustine confesses that the affection he had for
shows and theatres, had been the cause of his continued
indulgence in sensuality, and that he always came away
more unchaste than when he entered, because, he says,
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what one sees or what one hears, excites bad thoughts,
seduces the mind, and corrupts the heart.
St. Cyprian affirms that theatres are a school of im-
purity, and a place wherein modesty is prostituted.
Salvian, Bishop of Marseilles, says, that in his time, it
was the custom at the Sacrament of Baptism to make an
extra-renunciation, namely, a promise to avoid going to
theatres.
St. Chrysostom wishes that all would fly from theatres
as from a plague.
Tertullian, in his book on " Spectacles? shows and proves
that the Christian religion has an extreme aversion for all
sorts of public amusements, that it abhors them, and it
cannot in any way approve of them.
Minutius Felix inveighs against dangerous pastimes in
an " Apology " he published in defence of the Christians.
F£nelon.
• • • • . • .
Although balls and dancing be recreations, in their own
nature, indifferent; yet, according to the ordinary manner in
which they are conducted, they preponderate very much
on the side of evil, and are, in consequence, extremely
dangerous. Being generally carried on in the darkness
and obscurity of night, it is by no means surprising that
several vicious circumstances should obtain easy admit-
tance, since the subject is of itself so susceptible of evil
The amateurs of these diversions, by sitting up late at
night, disable themselves from discharging their duty to
God, on the morning of the day following.
Is it not, then, a kind of madness to exchange the day
for the night, light for darkness, and good works for crimi-
nal fooleries? Every one strives who shall carry most
vanity to the ball ; and vanity is so congenial to evil affec-
tions as well as to dangerous familiarities, that both are
easily engendered by dancing.
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ON THEATRES, BALLS, ET(f.
317
Balls, dancing, and other nocturnal meetings ordinarily
attract the reigning vices and sins together, namely, quar-
rels, envy, scoffing, and wanton loves, and as these exercises
open the pores of the bodies of those that use them, so
they also open the pores of their heart, and expose them
to the danger of some serpent taking the advantage to
breathe loose words or lascivious suggestions into the ear,
or of a basilisk casting an impure look or wanton glance
of love into the heart, which being thus opened, is easily
seized upon and poisoned.
These idle recreations are ordinarily very dangerous;
they chase away the spirit of devotion, and leave the soul
in a languishing condition ; they cool the fervour of charity,
and excite a thousand evil affections in the soul, and there-
fore they are not to be used but with the greatest caution.
But physicians say, that after mushrooms we must drink
good wine ; and I say, that after dancing it is necessary
to refresh our souls with good and holy considerations,
to prevent the baneful effects of these dangerous impres-
sions, which the vain pleasure taken in dancing may have
left in our minds. But what considerations ?
1. Consider, that during the time you were at the ball,
innumerable souls were burning in the flames of hell, for
the sins they had committed in dancing, or were occasioned
by their dances.
2. That, many religious and devout persons, of both
sexes, were, at that very time, in the presence of God,
singing His praises, and contemplating His beauty. Ah !
how much more profitably was their time employed than
yours !
3. That, whilst you were dancing, many souls departed
out of this world in great anguish, and that thousands of
thousands of men and women then suffered great pains in
their beds, in hospitals, in the streets, by the gout, the
stone, or burning fevers. Alas ! they had no rest, and will
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you have no compassion for them ? And do you not think
that you shall one day groan, as they did, whilst others
shall dance, as you did ?
4. That, our Blessed Saviour, His Virgin Mother, the
Angels and Saints, beheld you at the ball. Ah! how
greatly did they pity you, seeing your heart pleased with
so vain an amusement, and taken up with such childish
toys!
5. Alas ! whilst you were there, Time was passing away,
and Death was approaching nearer : behold how he mocks
you, and invites you to his dance, in which the groans of
your friends shall serve for the music, and where you shall
make but one step from this life to the next. The dance
of death is, alas ! the true pastime of mortals, since by it
we instantly pass from the vain amusements of this world
to the eternal pains or pleasures of the next,
I have set you down these little considerations. God
will suggest to you many more to the like effect, provided
you fear Him.
St. Francis de Sales.
Devout Life.
I know not where you will find more corruption and
vice, than in a theatre. Beautiful language causes sin to
appear charming, and fine poetry and a pleasing delivery
seduce the mind, and leads it as it wills.
Lanctantius.*
* This great orator lived in the third century.
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ON THEFT, LARCENY, ETC. 319
94.— flDn Cfieft, larcenp, etc.
PERE Lejeune de l'Oratoire.
" Woe to him that heapeth together that which is not his own."
— Habacuc ii. 6.
IT is seldom indeed that larceny and injustice can be
separated from avarice; at any rate, the wrong inflicted on
one's neighbour is the same. This is what the prophet
Osee insinuates, when he says, that theft has spread like
the Deluge amongst men.
No need, my brethren, to confine thieves to the woods
and forests; they are to be found everywhere; and however
infamous this vice may be, there are very many in the
world, who, although looked upon as honest, respectable
men, are quite as guilty.
It is very true that when we hear, as we often do, of
highwaymen and housebreakers breaking into houses, and
carrying off all they can, respectable men are not to be
found in their company; but when it has been shown that
there are many kinds of larceny which the world does not
consider as shameful, nay, even some are looked upon as
honourable, you must then be convinced that the prophet
is right, when he says, that " Theft is spread amongst men
like a deluge."
If it is absolutely impossible, that those who have ac-
quired riches through defrauding another of his property,
can be saved without making restitution, when they have
the power to do so, it is also, on the other hand, almost
impossible that they could do so, if they are possessed
with a vicious self-interested passion.
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One may say that this kind of impossibility is to be
found in the moral actions of men, where there are so many
difficulties which hinder them from putting them into exe-
cution, where there are so many obstacles to overcome,
and where miracles of graces are needed to induce us to
make extraordinary efforts.
Experience has shown us, that the restitution of stolen
property should be placed in the ranks of impossibilities
of this kind, since out of the incalculable number of per-
sons who have been unjust enough to defraud, very few in-
deed have been found, who have been just and honourable
enough to restore it. Almost all the restitutions that are
made, consist of some crowns which a servant may have
stolen from his master ; but, for those thieves who retain
large sums of others' property, those money-lenders, whose
riches consist of accumulations of usurious interest, those
masters of chicanery, who have cunningly obtained through
favour, friends, or court influence, property which was not
theirs ; to gentry, such as these, it would be useless to speak
of restitution ; it would be a recommendation to which they
would not willingly listen.
That shows, that there is a species of secret impossibility
in an act of justice which, in practice, we find so rare.
It is not, say you, our intention to die holding the pro-
perty of another person; it is our intention to return it
through our will, but not now. What if you die without
making your last will, what will happen then ? And if your
will is not properly drawn up or not properly attested, your
heirs may easily upset the will, or fail to carry out your
intentions; what will become of you then? And even if
all this should not occur, do you not see that by deferring
to make restitution, which you could now do, you render
it most difficult, since you would be compelled not only
to pay the principal, but it would be incumbent on you to
make some satisfaction for the injury caused by your delay.
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321
You cannot keep for long those ill-gotten goods; they
will be the cause of an unhappiness which will last for ever.
Notwithstanding you hold it now, you must, when you die,
leave that money which you cannot now give up, and you
will then be compelled to do necessarily and fruitlessly,
what you could now do, willingly and meritoriously. Ah!
would it not be much better to make a willing restitution
now, than to make it at the hour of death, when, per-
chance, you may do it with regret, through constraint, and
without reward ? Would it not be better, says St. Bernard,
to despise those benefits with honour and with an interior
conscientious satisfaction, than to lose them and part with
them all with a great but useless grief? Would it not be
far more prudent to give them up willingly for the love of
Christ, than to leave them behind you, whether you like it
or not ?
I tell you now, beseechingly, since it is for the salvation
of your soul, Redde quod debes — Return what thou owest.
Ah ! have some compassion on yourself ; restore to that
tradesman, to that workman, that servant what you owe
them, make some reparation to that poor widow whose
pittance you have kept back, repair the injury you have
inflicted on that poor family by the sale of worthless
shares ; in a word, give up property which does not belong
to you. Redde quod debes — Pay what you owe.
I say this now, beseechingly, but recollect that Death
will one day sternly say, " Depart, wretched man ; leave a
house which is not legitimately yours ; leave behind thee
monies which you cannot carry away with you."
Le Pere Lejeune de l'Oratoire.
Sur le Larcin*
X
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95.— Dn Famglorp.
SS. Chrysostom, Ambrose, and
Alphonse Rodriguez, S.J.
" Let us not be made desrrous of vainglory, provoking one another."
— Galatians *6.
THE yearning after glory is a strange passion. It dis-
plays itself in a hundred different ways. Some wish to
be honoured, some wish to be in regal power, some aspire
to be rich, and others sigh to be strong and robust
This tyrannic passion, passing still further on, induces
some to seek for glory by their alms-deeds, others by
their fasts and mortifications, some by their ostentatious
prayers, others by their learning and science; so various
are the forms of this monster vice.
One need not be astonished that men seek after the
emoluments and grandeur of this world, but what is more
astonishing (and what more blamable), that any one can
be found who is proud and vain of his good works, of his
fasts, his prayers, and of his alms. I confess that I am
pierced to the heart when I see such holy actions tarnished
by secret vanity. I feel as much grieved as I should be
if I heard of an illustrious princess, of whom much was
expected, giving herself up to all sorts of debauchery and
vice.
Men soon find that there is no one more importunate
than he who, filled with vainglory, praises himself, gives
himself airs, and places on his head a wreath of incense.
He is laughed at for his vanity, and the more they notice
ON VAINGLORY.
323
that he boasts of himself, the more they endeavour to
humiliate him.
In fact, the more you try to attract the praise of the
world by your own vanity and vainglory, the more will
people either avoid you or laugh at you.
Thus it happens that the result is contrary to our expec-
tations ; we are anxious that the world should praise us,
and exclaim, " What a good man ! how charitable he is ! "
But people will say, " What a vain man ! how easy to see
that he wishes to please men, rather than please God ! "
If, on the other hand, you hide the good you do, it is
then that God will praise you ; He even will not allow any
holy action to remain long concealed. You may try to
suppress the performance of good deeds, He will take care
to make them known, aye, better known than you could
possibly have intended.
You see, then, that there is nothing more, antagonistic
to glory and honour, when you seek to do good merely
for the purpose of being seen, known, and admired.
It is the way of doing quite the contrary to what you
intended, since, instead of showing off your goodness, you
will only cause your vanity to be known to all men, and
punished by Almighty God.
This vice seems, as it were, to smother all qur reasoning
faculties, so much so, that one would say, that he who is
a slave to vainglory had lost his senses.
You would look upon that man as a madman who, being
short of stature, would really believe that he was growing
so tall, that he would soon be able to look down on the
highest mountain. After this extravagance, you would
need no further proof of his insanity.
So in like manner, when you see a man who considers
himself to be above all his fellow-creatures, and would be
offended were he compelled to mix with the common herd
of men, you would seek for no other proof of his madness.
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He is even more ridiculous than those who have lost the
use of reason, for he voluntarily reduces himself to that
pitiable state of extravagant folly.
Public approbation has but little effect on a man who
has acted from good and conscientious motives ; such a
man merits as much again as he seems to have disre-
garded before.
Those who seek with too much eagerness for the esteem
and applause of the world, receive during this life the
reward of their good works, but merit nothing for eternity.
This is a maxim drawn from Holy Scripture.
I, however, tell you, that all those alms that are given
to create a sensation are not meritorious ; that those who,
with a flourish of trumpets, proclaim to the world the
good they have done, have already received their reward ;
and even those who make a parade of their fasts and
mortifications lose all the merit by vain ostentation.
Our Saviour teaches us to do good by stealth. It is
God, not men, we ought to study to please. The reward
which men can give us is frivolous and transient, but God
reserves for us an infinite reward, an eternal recompense.
All the saints admonish us to be on our guard against
vainglory, because, say they, it is a cunning thief, which
often steals from us pur best actions, and which insinuates
itself so secretly, that it has struck its blow even before we
have perceived it. St. Gregory says that vainglory is
like a robber, who first craftily insinuates himself into the
company of a traVeller, pretending to go the same way as
St. Chrysostom.
Fifty-eight on St. Matthew.
St. Ambrose.
ON VAINGLORY.
325
he does, and afterwards robs and kills him when he is
least upon his guard, and when he thinks himself most
secure. " I confess," says the saint in the last chapter of
his Morals, " that when I go about to examine my own
intention, even while I am writing this, I think that I
have no other will than to please God; but, notwith-
standing, while I am not upon my guard, I find that a
certain desire of pleasing men intermixes itself, and me-
thinks I feel some vain satisfaction for having performed
it well. How it comes to pass I know not, but I perceive
that, while I go on, what I do is not so free from dust and
chaff as it was in the beginning. For I know that I began
it at first, with the sole view of pleasing God ; but now I
perceive other considerations mixing themselves, which
render my intention less upright and pure than it was."
• *•••••
What sufficiently demonstrates the deformity of the vice
is, that the saints and divines rank it amongst those sins
ordinarily called mortal, or which are more properly styled
capital sins; because they are, as it were, the head and
source of all others. Some reckon eight of this nature,
and say that the first is anger, and the second vainglory ;
but the common opinion of saints, and that which is re-
ceived by the Church, is, that there are seven capital sins.
Alphonse Rodriguez, S.J.
See next " Half Hour," No. 96.
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326 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
96.— Dn our 'BaD ipaafctfon*.
PjfcRES Rodriguez, Nepvue, and
St. Philip Neri.
" For this cause God delivered them up to shameful affections."
— Romans L a&
[Alphonse Rodriguez, the Jesuit Father, was born at Valladolid
in 1526. For some years he was Professor of Moral Theology, and
was afterwards Rector of Monte Rey, in Galicia. With this office, he
united that of Master of Novices, among whom he had the honour of
instructing the learned Suarez. He died in the odour of sanctity, at
Seville on the 21st of February 1616, at the great age of ninety. This
pious Jesuit Father is chiefly known as the author of " Practice of
Christian Perfection," a work which should be read over and over
again by every Catholic. An excellent edition of this work, for the
laity, is published in two volumes by Burns, Oates, & Co.
We must not confound this father with the Blessed Alphonse Rodri-
guez, a lay brother, who died at Majorca, October 31, 161 7, and whose
beatification was decreed by Clement XIII. and Leo XII.]
PAGAN philosophers all agree that wisdom consists in a
tranquillity of the soul, which it enjoys when the sensual
appetites are entirely subdued. It is then that, there being
no violent passions to trouble the peace of the soul by
inordinate desires, or by darkening the understanding,
which is sure to be the case when they are in agita-
tion; for the peculiar property of passion is, to blind
the reason and diminish within us the liberty of our own
free will.
But when the passions are lulled, the understanding has
purer lights to know what is right, and the will has freer
liberty to embrace what is correct and good.
ON OUR BAD PASSIONS.
327
Now, this peace and quietude God wishes to find in our
heart, in order that He may dwell therein, and wills to
infuse wisdom within us, and to bestow His graces upon
us. The mortification of our passions and the control of
our appetites are the only means of obtaining that peace
and of securing that tranquillity.
One can obtain peace only by going to war; if you
do not wish to battle with your passions, to curb your
inordinate desires, to gain a victory over self, you will
never obtain that peace, and you will never be master of
yourself if you are not the conqueror.
It must be reckoned as a certain truth that the in-
temperateness of our appetites and the perverse inclina-
tions of our flesh are the greatest obstacles we have, not
only to our salvation, but, still more, to our progress in
virtue.
What has often been said is, that the flesh is our greatest
enemy, because, in fact, from that spring all our bad pas-
sions, all our disorders and our falls. " From whence are
wars and contentions among you?" says the Apostle
James: "are they not hence from your concupiscences
which war in your members ? "
Sensuality, concupiscence, and the unruliness of self-love
are the cause of all our wars in our members, of all the
sins, of all the imperfections we commit, and consequently
are the greatest hindrance we meet with in our way of
perfection and salvation.
From whence it is easy to see, that real mortification
consists in repairing the disorder of our passions, that is to
say, by overcoming the evil propensities of our passions
and the obstinacy of our self-love.
One can safely say that there is no virtue more recom-
A. Rodriguez, S.J.
On Mortification.
328 HALF HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
mended by Jesus Christ than the mortification of our
passions.
A large portion of the Gospels tends to make us under-
stand its necessity, and there is no truth more often repeated,
more often expressed. You read therein of the cross, of
sufferings, of death, of denying yourself, of hatred of self,
of the violence we must use, of the narrow way whereon
we must necessarily enter.
At one time, our Saviour tells us that he who wishes to
come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross and
follow Me; at another time, He assures us that since the
preaching of St. John the Baptist, that is to say, since the
promulgation of the new law, the kingdom of heaven is
only taken by violence, and that only those who use vio-
lence can gain it ; at another time He tells us that the
road which leads to life is narrow, and there are few who
enter on it, and it is on that account, He exhorts us to
enter thereon.
Now, what does our Lord wish to infer from this neces-
sity of carrying one's cross, of denying one's self, of enter-
ing into the narrow path, of doing violence ? He points
out the obligation we all have of repressing the bent of
our natural inclinations, which, coming from a corrupt
source, are always unruly, and of continually fighting
against our passions, especially those which are the most
dangerous, because they all usually lead to evil conse-
quences.
If mortification is a remedy for past sins, it is a preser-
vative against evils to come. We have, as children of
Adam, received with our inherited original sin, a strong
repugnance to do good, a violent inclination to do that
which is wrong; we cannot get rid of this inclination.
Can we give in to this repugnance without falling into
disorder ? neither can we safely resist without using vio-
lence, without incessantly battling with our bad passions,
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ON OUR BAD PASSIONS.
329
and is not this the chief exercise of Christian mortifica-
tion ?
We are all born proud, ambitious, choleric, vindictive,
self-interested, sensual — this we are naturally — you see
then that we must cease to be wicked if we wish to be
Christians, if we are anxious to work out our salvation.
To effect this must we not always watch over our-
selves, must we not ever be engaged in a spiritual com-
bat, and, consequently, must we not practise continual
mortification?
To mortify one passion, no matter how small, is a
greater help in the spiritual life, than many abstinences,
fasts, and disciplines.
Le Pere Nepvue.
Esprit du Christianisme.
St. Philip Neri.
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
97.— On aimafcDeetna.
PfeRE Houdry, St. Chrysostom,
and Father Faber.
" According to thy ability, be merciful. If thou have much, give abundantly ; if
thou have little, take care even so to bestow willingly a little."— Tobias iv. 8.
OF the great advantage to be derived from almsgiving,
and of the love which we ought to feel in bestowing, with
liberality, every kind of help to the poor, there is nothing
more impressive than the Gospel of St. Matthew, where
the Apostle relates, what our Saviour will say, and do, on
the last great day — the day of judgment.
The elect are ranged on the right, and the reprobate on
the left. Jesus fixing His eyes on the wicked on the left,
will pronounce those terrible words : " Go ! ye accursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
And to justify this frightful sentence, He will add : " I was
hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat ; I was thirsty,
and you gave Me no drink ; I was a stranger, and you had
no wish to receive Me ; I was naked, and you clothed Me
not ; I was sick, and you did not pay Me a single visit.
Go ! ye accursed, depart from Me."
Listen and tremble, you, who, far from protecting the
widow and orphan, have unjustly oppressed them. You, who
are enriched with the spoils of the unfortunate ; you, who
have heard without being moved, their complaints and
their groans; you, who have even insulted their poverty ;
you, who, by taking advantage of a bad season, have
rendered the poor more miserable, by assisting in keeping
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ON ALMS-DEEDS.
331
up or by raising the price of necessaries, or by usurious
interest, have drained their little savings ; you, in fine,
who have designedly shut up your bowels of compassion,
— come and hear the Supreme Judge pronounce the sen-
tence of your condemnation. Discedite, maledicti — With-
draw from me, ye accursed. And where are they to go,
Lord ? In ignem (Sternum — Into eternal fire. Why ?
Because, says the Lord, I was hungry, and you gave Me
nothing to eat — Esurivi enim et non dedisti mihi mandu-
care, I was ill, and in prison, and you have not visited Me !
— Infirtnus et in carcere, et non visitastis me. I have suf-
fered extreme want, in the persons of My poor, which you
ought to have looked upon as My members, and you have
not seen to this. It is thus that the Lord of Justice, on
the day of wrath, in the presence of the whole world, will
compel the merciless rich, to seal their own condemnation.
Can one, after that, question the obligation of this pre-
cept, since the Supreme Judge seems to forget the other
breaches of His laws, to condemn the sinner on this precept
alone ?
R. P. Vincent Houdry, S.J.
St. Chrysostom, in his Homily on this subject, says,
that God when He deigned to become Incarnate, was so
united to poverty, with such an inexpressible union, that
the poor is a tabernacle where God is hidden, in the same
way as He is veiled in our ciboriums. So that it is the
poor who beg, but it is God who receives the alms; God is
our debtor, and it is the Almighty who wishes to repay us.
By this means, although He is invisible, He is still with
us in the person of His poor. He receives the alms, and
in return, He loads us with His graces and blessings.
St. Chrysostom.
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I cannot bring myself to believe that a professedly pious
person, who is very guarded in giving alms, has the
genuine spirit of inward repentance. Now, in the present
day, it is not uncommon to see pious people acting
as if they really thought their piety in other respects was
almost a dispensation from almsgiving. Others, again,
when they give, give in ways which minister to their own
humours ; so that even in almsgiving, self-love shall find
its account
Moreover, generosity is not almsgiving. The quantity
given, must have reference to the means of the giver, but
more to the amount of sacrifice and self-denial, which his
alms entail upon him. Expensiveness is perhaps not a
distinct sin in itself, though even that may be questioned ;
but it is the mother of many sins, and it is remarkably
uncongenial to the spiritual life. Yet pious people are
particularly given to be expensive, when they have the
means.
An alms, which does not put the giver to inconvenience,
is rather a kindness than an alms; and certainly the alms,
which is to be a satisfactory evidence of inward repentance,
ought to reach the point of causing some palpable incon-
venience, of involving some solid self-denial.
Father Faber (Orat)
Spiritual Conferences,
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ON KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS.
98.— rdn fteeptng tfce CommanDmente.
Pere Lambert.
'* My son, keep my commandments, and thou shalt live ; and my law as the
apple of thy eye."— Proverbs vii. i.
The word Decalogue signifies a law which comprises ten
commandments, the purely excellent, the most just and the
most conformable to the law of equity that could be given
to the world, whether we consider the author, who is God
Himself; whether we look to their end, since they have for
their aim, not a decaying or perishable benefit, but an
eternity of happiness; whether, in fine, we consider the
things they contain, since therein, there is no virtue which
they do not command, no vice they do not forbid.
St. Augustine says, the Decalogue is an abridgment of
every law (Qucest 401, sup. Exodus). St. Augustine also
says, that in the New Law the commandments are less
numerous, more easy, and mqre beneficial.
The law of God, does it appear to us to be difficult ?
It is because we have so little love. The law of God, in
all that it embraces, is sweet to him whose heart is full of
charity. Love, says St. John, consists in keeping His
commandments, and His commandments are not painful.
They are not painful when love induces us to keep them.
If they should appear to be painful or laborious, it is that
your heart is full of the love of the world, full of self-love,
and destitute of the love of God. St Augustine makes
our Saviour speak, and puts into His mouth the following
words and complaints: Avarice commands the hardest
tasks ; see what I command, and make the comparison.
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HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
Avarice induces men to cross the seas, to go into unknown,
undiscovered countries, and a thousand perils are eagerly
sought. Avarice is obeyed, all My commandments are set
at nought. Is it not shameful that the world should have
more authority than God? that they should plead diffi-
culty when it is God who speaks, that they should daily
surmount the most difficult obstacles, when it is a question
of pleasing, or of getting on in the world ?
It is a general principle, in all that God enjoins, that He
asks and seeks first above all — our hearts. Does not God
command us to give alms ? He wishes, however, that we
should do these acts of charity from a pure motive, that is
to say, from the heart ; and He Himself says, that He loves
the cheerful giver. God asks us for good works, exterior
homage, proofs of our entire dependence on Him as His
creatures. He gives us to understand that if these good
works do not proceed from the heart, He will reject such
gifts, and class us with those hypocrites who honour Him
with their lips, whilst their hearts are far from Him.
Those, then, are displeasing to God, who in their heart
disown actions, which they consider they are obliged to
perform through a natural human benevolence, or through
a love of display. Those, again, do not obey the com-
mandments as they ought, who indulge in murmuring,
grumbling, and in seeking for excuses.
It was the fault of the Jews that so often caused God to
be angry with them, for their mistrusts and murmurs.
I hear the Lord complain so touchingly, " How long
will this impious and ungrateful people murmur against
me ? (Numbers x.) And you know how this people had
been punished, and, with what severity God chastised
them.
Lambert.
Ecclesiastical Discourses.
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ON CONSCIENCE,
335
99 — Dn Conscience*
BOURDALOUE.
" Our glory is here, the testimony of our conscience. "
— 2 Corinthians i. ia.
At the very moment we tommit a sin, we feel within a
remorse of conscience, and this is the reproach for the
sin committed. Now, I say that this remorse is a grace ;
for what is a grace? How many are ignorant of it, or
rather how many ignore it, although it is received every
day ? Grace, say the theologians, is a help which God
gives to man, in order that he may act upon it, and so
merit heaven ; and if he be a sinner, in order that he may
work out his salvation by penance.
Now all this perfectly tallies with that synderesis, that
is to say, to that remorse of conscience, which grows
within us after sin. For it is certain that God is the
author of it, that it is solely through love that He excites
it in us, and that He uses it as a means of working out our
conversion.
Whence comes the conclusion, that this remorse has all
thequalities of a genuinegrace? forthere is nothing more cer-
tain than that God is the source from whence it arises, since
the Scripture declares the same thing to us in a thousand
places. Yes, it is I, says the Almighty speaking to a
sinner, it is I who will reproach you for the enormity of
your sin. When, after committing it, your conscience
disturbs you, attribute your disquiet to Me, and do not
seek elsewhere from whence comes this remorse. A hun-
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336 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
dred times, after having yielded to temptation, you would
try to conceal from yourself your cowardice ; you would
wish to turn away your eyes, so as not to see your sin ;
and you fancy that I shall do the same and fall in with
your notions; but you deceive yourself: " Thou thoughtest
unjustly, that I was as thyself" (Ps. xlix.) ; for being your
Lord and your God, I will always be your accuser, and as
often as you shall commit an offence against Me, I will,
whether you will or not, lay before you your iniquity and
the horror I have of sin. " I will reprove thee, and set
them before thy face " (Ps. xlix.)
You see, Christians, how that God is the principal
author of remorse of conscience. But what motive has
He for this ? I have said that it is through love, through
a miracle of His goodness, an effusion of His mercy.
Does He not explain Himself to the same purpose to
His beloved disciple in the Revelation? Ego, quodamo,
arguo. Those whom I love, I rebuke and chastise (Apo-
calypse, 35); and it is by chastising them that I show my
love for them. But what occasion for other testimony
than the word of our Saviour, when He announced to His
apostles the coming of the Holy Ghost : " When He shall
come, He will reprove the world of sin" {John xvi.) And
by whom will it be reproved ? By the Spirit of truth,
which I shall send for that purpose. And what does He
mean by the Spirit of truth ? The substantial love of the
Father and the Son, the Divine Person, who is charity
itself. Observe, then, dear brethren, that it is the love
of God which reproves when we are sinners : " He wiii
reprove the world of sin." And now, is there the least
room to doubt that the remorse of our conscience is not
a grace ?
It- is not an external, but an internal grace, as it is in
the very bottom of our souls, that this gnawing worm of
remorse is found. Wherefore the Apostle of the Gentiles
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ON CONSCIENCE.
337
tells us, that God " hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son
into our hearts, crying out" (Galatians iv.) This Divine
Spirit (as St Augustine observes) cries out, not after the
manner of a preacher, who speaks to us and reproaches
us with the viciousness of our life : for not all the preachers
in the world, have it in their power to probe the conscience ;
and, however their words may strike the ear, they are far
from reaching the human heart. But the Spirit of God,
the better to be. heard by us, holds, as I may say, His
place in the centre of us; and from thence (says St.
Augustine) He incessantly , cries out, in opposition to our
passions, censures our pleasures, and condemns our sins.
Ah ! Christians, can we carry our ingratitude to that pitch,
as to think the contradiction of the Holy Spirit an impor-
tunate rigour, and not confess that it is a gift of His grace,
a mercy on the sinner, a help of salvation, and a favourable
means of bringing him back to God ? Can we be so blind,
as to suppose the sting which pains us, an insupportable
pain, and wish to be rid of it ?
No, my Lord, we will never entertain such dangerous
notions ; and as we are assured that it is Your Spirit, the
Divme Comforter, which infuses these salutary remorses
within us, we will always receive them as benefactions
from Thy hand, and, far from complaining, will only
think of giving fresh proofs of our love and gratitude, by
our fidelity.
BOURDALOUE.
From his Sermons,
When God will be your judge, He will require no better
witness, than your own conscience.
St. Augustine.
On Psalm xxxvii.
Y
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100.— flDn tfje Connexion of ©inner**
n Bourdaloue and Pere Houdry.
" If you seek the Lord your God you will find Him, provided always, you seek
with all your heart, and in the bitter tribulation of your souL"— Deuteronomy nr. 29.
It is an error to maintain that the tears our Lord shed,
dispense us from shedding our own, for tears are indis-
pensably necessary, principally those, which St Augustine
calls the tears of the heart, since it is by these, is commenced
our spiritual conversion.
The conversion of Magdalen began with tears: Ccepit
rigare pedes ejus. She wept more for herself, than she did
for her brother Lazarus.
It was through contrition, that David expiated his sins,
for he wept night and day, and watered his couch with his
tears. It was by that, St. Peter blotted out his crime, for
it is written, that he went out, and wept bitterly.
When one begs pardon for a fault, we may fail of con-
vincing others of our sincerity, for words are not always
the true interpreters of the heart ; but with respect to tears,
they have less cunning, and are far more eloquent, because
they disclose the soul's deepest sorrow: Lacryma totum
prodit affectum.
It is in this that consists true penance, an index of
an abiding sorrow for having offended God, which then
prompts us to do our utmost to satisfy His justice.
For it is of little worth to acknowledge our sins (the
wicked, the hypocrite, often see their crimes, but are not
sufficiently aware of their enormity), but we must also feel
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ON THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS.
339
an inward grief, a salutary compunction of heart, and that
bitterness of soul which the Apostle calls, sadness unto
God. From these arise our sighs, our wish to cover our
head with ashes, our dejected look, that make one strike
the breast, that suggest the discipline and hair-shirt ; that
sorrow, from which proceed deep regrets for the past, fear
for the future, and anguish for the present ; that sadness,
which complains like the dove, and which make tears
supply the place of food, according to the expression of
David.
Infallible are the marks of repentance, when the feelings
are so acute that it pierces the wounded conscience ; not
only does it rend our hearts within, but outwardly, it escapes
in sighs and tears.
Thus the royal prophet tells us, that he bedewed his bed
with his tears ; thus also, the sinner in the Gospel washed
the feet of Jesus, and mingled with the ointment the tears
of a breaking heart.
See how efficacious is the remedy of such happy tears,
so different from our ordinary worldly weepings.
In vain you weep, when you are overwhelmed with debt,
and when you are pressed hard by creditors. In vain you
weep, when you are lying on a bed of sickness, racked, per-
chance, with pains. In vain you weep, for a dear one dead.
Rivers of tears will not blot out such griefs.
But oh ! marvellous virtue of the tears of penance ! they
cancel debt, they cure your sickness, they restore you
to life. And provided that you weep from the heart,
behold you will be transformed into new creatures, and
you will begin to lead a life of heavenly spirituality.
BOURDALOUE.
Scripture speaks of a converted man as a new man,
because, in fact, it produces a wonderful renewal in a
regenerated creature. He is no longer himself, he is
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another man, another being, everything is changed. He
cannot recognise the past ; on whatever side you look, you
find a new man. He has other eyes, eyes so full of re-
newed faith, that they penetrate unto heaven ; they now
perceive the celestial light of truth, and the beauty of
holiness and sanctity, and fathom the unseen and distant
future. He has other ears, ears attentive and obedient,
that take pleasure in hearing the Word of God, and they
listen to the oracles of heaven.
He has another taste, by which he relishes spiritual
delights; he has far better feelings than he had before.
He has a horror of sin, and a fear of offending God ; his
anger, is zeal for the glory of God ; his joy, is the peace of
his conscience ; his love, a love for God and his neigh-
bour; his hatred,' his former love of self; his hope, the
search for heavenly things; his occupations are in good
works ; his recreation the praises of God ; his life a con-
tinual practice of piety. You would say that his nature
was totally altered and changed.
This change of grace is not the work of a single day.
When the strong arm of grace takes possession of a heart,
it progresses with difficulty ; a house built on a rock, does
not overturn with the first gust of wind ; the devil, in quiet
possession of a soul, does not yield to the first effort to
drive him away.
In the same way, grace of conversion is not suddenly
established in a heart ; its progress is slow, almost imper-
ceptible; it is only by degrees that the work is perfected.
We must first fight against our dominant passions, the dire
enemies of our salvation.
Rev. Pere Vincent Houdry.
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ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF TIME.
34t
101.— flDn tfje (Employment of Cime*
Fathers Segneri and Croiset.
Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men."
— Ephbsians vi. 13.
God allows us ample time to do good : " I gave her a time
that she might do penance" (Apoc. ii.) But when this
time, of which we are now the masters, shall be ended, we
can no longer have a single moment at our disposal:
u Time shall be no longer " (Apoc. x.) It is then that our
Lord's time will have arrived, that time which He has
fixed, and then He will ask how we have employed that
which He had given. Ah ! what a severe account will He
not demand ! Vocavit adversum me tempus (Thren. iii.)
Let us examine ourselves and see how we employ our
time. Is it employed in useful things, or is it frittered
away, in seeking after vain pursuits ?
God gives us this time, in order that it may assist us in
working out our own salvation, and we lose it, or rather,
we make use of it in such a manner as will eventually lead
to eternal loss. Oh ! what a use to make of a blessing,
which ought to be fostered with so much care, and so
much wisdom.
We shall know the value of time, when we shall" have
allowed it to pass away, and when our Lord's time will
have arrived ; and that time is not far off : " Her time is
near at hand, and her days shall not be prolonged," says
Isaias (xiv.)
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The wise man is not satisfied with comparing the days
of our life to those of a traveller, in order to express its
short duration ; he says, further on, that this short time
passes away so quickly, that he can but compare it to a
shadow : Velut umbra prater it.
How likely we are to lose it, and what dangers do we
not incur, if we do not take especial care to make a good
use of that which God has given us.
A traveller pressed for time, thinks only, of how soon he
can complete his labours ; he deprives himself of sleep, of
his meals, his relaxations, in fact, all that he can shorten
or cut off ; if we do not make a profitable use of the little
time that remains to work out our salvation, what do we
not risk ?
The loss of your time does not produce a less evil than
the eternal loss of your soul.
What, then, is the blindness of worldlings, who pass their
days in boasting projects of fame and fortune? A traveller,
whom the love of his own dear country urges his return,
does he amuse himself on the road with trifles ? What
are the largest fortunes in the world, or the grandest
establishments on earth, in comparison to a happy eternity,
to which every Christian should aspire ? Nothing but trifles
and mere playthings.
My days, alas ! are reckoned up, and the number is but
very small. I will husband these my days with care, so
that I may reach at last the heavenly home.
Le Pere Paul Segneri, S.J.
Meditations.
God gives me this day to work out my salvation. Ought
we not to meditate on this, for are we certain of seeing to-
morrow ? To-day, well employed, may be worth an eternity
,of happiness and glory. If God had vouchsafed to have
given the same grace to those who have finished their
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career ; if a soul could come out of hell, or purgatory, even
for one day, with the power of expiating its sins by penance
and prayer, what would it not do ? In so short, so precious
a time, would a single moment be lost ? Doubtless, no !
Even those who are in heaven, would they not deem it
an inestimable favour, if they had another day to merit
some new degree of holiness which would unite them more
closely to God ?
Why should we not make use of this short time in a
similar way ?
Let us apply to ourselves what the wise man says in
Ecclesiasticus (xiv.): "Defraud not thyself of the good
day, and let not the part of a good gift overpass thee."
Be mindful and do not let slip any opportunity of doing
good : we can then listen to, and follow faithfully, the voice
and inspirations of God.
Let us do our utmost to carry out the advice of the wise
man, and in the most excellent and perfect way: "He
hath made all things good in their time ."
Let us also follow that other advice of Ecclesiastes,
namely, — Do without delay all that is in your power, be-
cause in hell (which is full of souls who have made bad use
of time), there will be no time to do good, neither will
there be knowledge nor wisdom to teach us.
Our life is made up of a number of years, which quickly
succeed each other ; they pass away without a hope of our
ever seeing another day, or another hour ever return.
This series of years, of months, of days, which God has
given us for the purpose of saving our souls, are properly
the talent which the Almighty has been pleased to entrust
to us. This we ought to make much of, as we shall neces-
sarily have to give a strict account. Since we have been
in the world, no year has passed, but that it has been the
last year for very many, and the year now silently gliding
away, will terminate the career of many more.
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HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
How sad for those who have lost, perhaps, every day of
the year !
Have we nothing to reproach ourselves with? How
have we employed each day ? We have worked hard for
the world, have we gained much for heaven ? For if we
have done nothing for eternity, we have lost a year.
Now, at least, let us usefully make use of the little time
that remains
Le Pere Croiset.
Exercises de Pieti.
The three following paragraphs are from the " Maxims
and Sayings" of Saint Philip Neri : —
We must not be behind time in doing good, for death
will not be behind his time.
Happy is the youth, because he has time before him, to
do good.
In order to begin well, and to finish better, it is quite
necessary to hear Mass every day, unless there be some
lawful hindrance in the way.
And St Bonaventura tells us, that there is no greater
loss, than the loss of time..
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ON FAITH.
345
102. — flDn jFattfc.
Flechier and Pere La Font.
" Lord ! I believe ; help my unbelief."— Mark ix. 93.
INQUISITIVE speculation destroys that simplicity which
seeks only to bend to authority, and submit the reason
and will to the weight of the Divine Word, without wish-
ing to penetrate the depth of the mysteries, and entering
into vain and useless arguments.
This simplicity is founded on the respect due to God,
and on the deference we ought to pay to His Word.
The mind ought to be as submissive to all that our
Saviour has said, as the will should be amenable to all
that He commands; and as it is our duty to curb our
natural inclinations to obey the laws of God, so we must
control our feelings and repugnances, to acquiesce in His
truths.
It is not that faith has not reason and prudence, or that
it elevates itself above reason, but as St. Bernard remarks,
it is not amenable to reason, inasmuch, as it is founded on
the truth of the doctrine, which it has received. I did not
fix my faith on the penetration of my own intellect, but on
the authority of God, who can neither deceive nor be de-
ceived. The truth which I do not fathom, is enveloped in
its origin.
Far from seeking faith out of God by the puny efforts
of my reason, I adore it in the bosom of God, where it has
existence, invisible though it may be, and hidden from the
eyes of men.
We often hear worldly people say, " Let me but witness
but one miracle, and I will be converted." They deceive
themselves. Their wonder would be excited, but it would
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346 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
leave no impression on their hearts. They would admire
the power of the Almighty, but they would not increase
in love and charity. They might be convinced, but they
would not be converted, and since neither the authority of
Holy Writ, nor the interior voice of conscience, nor the
preaching of the gospel, nor the inspirations of heaven,
do not induce them to believe, the light impression of a
miracle would be very soon effaced.
It would require to be renewed in their every action;
and the desire of witnessing one, is only a pretext, or an
excuse, for their unbelief, and not as a remedy, or an assist-
ance, they desire for perfecting their faith.
Faith is that column of vapour, of which Scripture
speaks, which obscures the daylight and enlightens the
night. It is that holy mixture of darkness and light, of
infallible truths, and less evident proofs. It is that enigma
mentioned by St. Paul, which is seen through a glass
darkly.
It is, in fine, that truth, which, being revealed, causes the
joy and happiness of the blessed, and which, even when
veiled, is the hope and comfort of the saints on earth.
It is for this reason, that Jesus Christ chided pne of His
apostles, "To believe, you have seen and touched Me."
You are indebted to your eyes and hands, when you ought
to have trusted to My word. You have acquiesced in a
visible and palpable truth. It is out of curiosity, not
devotion.
Rejoice in the grace which I have been willing to confer
upon you ; but transfer the reward to those who have be-
lieved what they have not seen, and who, paying deference
to the power of My word, notwithstanding the contradic-
tion of reason and sense, make a public avowal of a truth,
which is not certainly unknown, but which is nevertheless
incomprehensible.
Fl£chier.
Panegyrique sur St. Thomas.
ON FAITH.
347
It is far from my intention to quote all the magnificent
eulogies which the Fathers of the Church have written on
Faith, in order to point out the beauties and force of their
language. I do not pause to show you that it is, accord-
ing to the great Apostle, as it were the spiritual founda-
tion of every virtue, and that it is through faith, that man
begins to draw nearer to God.
I need not tell, you with St. Chrysostom and St Augus-
tine, that it is a purely gratuitous gift of God, preceded by
no merit, but from which proceed all merits, and that it
is the source and beginning of the righteousness of men :
Origo ju$titi(By sanctitatis caput, undi omnis justitia sumiz
initium.
I will not tell you, with St. Bernardine of Sienna, that
it is the most excellent homage that man can render, to
God, by subjecting his reason, which is the most ungovern-
able and the proudest of all his faculties, by a blind defe-
rence to all the truths He has revealed, however incom-
prehensible they may be.
I will not stop to show you that it is to faith, that all
those good and grand men, of whom St. Paul sings the
praises, are indebted for so many victories over tyrants and
devils, and by which they have overcome all laws of nature,
and subjected entire cities to the empire of Jesus Christ.
In fine, I do not wish to delay pointing out to you that
Faith elevates us to a high and sublime knowledge of the
grandeur and perfection of the Divine Creator, a faith
which is impenetrable to the light of reason, which far sur-
passes the intelligence of angels, and which has this advan-
tage, in common with the-light of glory, that it looks upon
God as He is, and that it reflects His fulness and magnifi-
cence ; first in that veiled obscurity which is our comfort
here on earth, and which will be revealed to us hereafter,
in all its plenitude and splendour, as it has been revealed
to all the saints in heaven. P£re La Font.
Entrcticns.
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HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
103.— Dn JFrtentafrtp.
SS. Francis db Sales, Chrysostom,
and Jerome.
" Blessed is he that findeth a true friend."
— Proverbs xxv. it.
FRIENDSHIP requires great communication between friends,
otherwise it can neither grow nor subsist. Wherefore it
often happens, that with this communication of friendship,
divers other communications insensibly glide from one
heart to another, by a mutual infusion and reciprocal inter-
course of affections, inclinations, and impressions.
But this happens especially when we have a high esteem
for him whom we love ; for when we open our heart in
such manner to his friendship, that with it his inclinations
and impressions enter rapidly in their full stream, be they
good or bad. Certainly the bees, that gather the honey
of Heraclea, seek nothing but honey; but yet, with the
honey they insensibly suck the poisonous qualities of the
aconite, from which they gather it.
Good God, Philothea, on these occasions we must care-
fully put, what the Saviour of our souls was accustomed to
say, in practice : Be ye good bankers or changers of money;
that is to say, receive not bad money with the good, nor
base gold with the fine ; separate that which is precious
from that which is vile, for there is scarcely any person that
has not some imperfection. For why should we receive
promiscuously the spots and imperfections of a friend,
together with his friendship ? We must love him indeed,
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ON FRIENDSHIP.
349
notwithstanding his imperfections, but we must neither
love nor receive his imperfections ; for friendship requires
a communication of good, not of evil.
• • • • • • •
True and living friendship cannot subsist in the midst
of sins. As the salamander extinguishes the fire in which
he lies, so sin destroys the friendship in which it lodges.
If it be but a transient sin, friendship will presently put
it to flight by correction ; but if it be habitual, and take
up its lodging, friendship immediately perishes, for it
cannot subsist but on the solid foundation of virtue. We
must never, then, commit sin for friendship's sake.
A friend becomes an enemy when he would lead us
to sin, and he deserves to lose his friend, when he would
destroy his soul.
It is an infallible mark of false friendship, to see it exer-
cised towards a vicious person, be his sins of whatsoever
kind ; for if he whom we love be vicious, without doubt
our friendship is also vicious, since, seeing it cannot regard
true virtue, it must needs be grounded on some frivolous
virtue or sensual quality. Society, formed for traffic among
merchants, is but a shadow of true friendship, since it is
not made for the love of the persons, but for the love of
gain. Finally, the two following divine sentences are two
main pillars to secure a Christian life. The one is that
of the wise man : He that feareth God, shall likewise have
a true friendship. The other is that of the apostle St
James : The friendship of this world, is the enemy of God.
If we consider the friendships of the ordinary run of
mortals nowadays, we should find that nearly all human
friendships are at a low ebb, and are simply kept up by
St. Francis de Sales.
Devout Life.
350 HALF'HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
the prospect of gain in the businesses of this life. If you
wish to test this, you have only to examine into the dif-
ferent causes which bring on disunion in families, and
which make you enemies of each other. The reason is,
that when friendships are only founded on worldly and
fleeting advantages, they cannot be true and lasting
friendships; they vanish at the least slight, interest, or
jealousy, because they are not attached to the soul by
bonds which alone cement friendships, and which render
them firm and resolute.
The friendship between persons united in and with
Jesus Christ is solid, constant, and invincible; it is not
shaken or impaired by suspicion, calumny, dangers, or
even by death itself.
He who loves only so long as Jie is beloved, ceases to
love, when he receives some fancied displeasure from his
friend.
St. Chrysostom..
Exhortation on chap* viii. of St. Matthew.
• ••••••
We must take care not only to avoid leading a bad life,
but we must not contract a friendship with those who live
sinfully, for that, according to the Prophet, is included
among the sins.
True friendship exists, not in family interests, nor with
those persons by whom we are accustomed to be enter-
tained, nor with those who flatter us, and whose company
is dangerous ; but with those who cherish the holy fear of
God and the study of Holy Scripture.
St. Jerome.
Epistle ad Paulinum.
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ON GOOD EXAMPLE.
35*
104. — jSDn (0ooD OBrample.
Le Pere Texier.
Let your light shine before men, in order that seeing your good works, they
may glorify your Father who is in heaven. " — Matthew v. 14.
To gain knowledge, one need only watch and see virtue
emanating from a saintly man ; his very silence, joined to
his expressive gestures, plainly show all he would wish to
say. So says Emodius : Ilium vidisse eruditiest ; est enim
in illo loquax taciturnitas et erudite forma silentiL
Every nation, however savage the people may be, how-
ever diversified in speech, understands the language of good
example, and one need not be astonished at what Ter-
tullian says: " The confidence and invincible patience of
the early martyrs has proved to be the first commentary,
and the clearest interpretation of the Gospel"
It was this mute, but eloquent, philosophy which the
primitive Church made use of, to enlighten the obscurity
of the mysteries of our holy faith. It was that piety which
was imprinted on the faces of the first Christians, that
calm demeanour which they displayed when on their trial,
and especially that unshaken confidence and trust in God
in the midst of cruel tortures ; it was example like unto
this, that touched the hearts of many a pagan.
Even the modest attire of the early Christians (says
Tertullian) was a public censure of all the vices of the
idolaters. Let us say rather, that all the early Christians
were efficacious preachers.
352 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC. .
When the great orators wished to make a deep impres-
sion on the judges and their hearers, they often felt at a
loss for words, so they betook themselves to action ; they
knew by experience, that the sight of a body covered with
wounds, of a cassock tinged with blood, of a procession of
poor little orphans, of a widow bathed in tears, were cer-
tainly better adapted to excite compassion, than all the
tropes and figures of the most pathetic of speeches ; so
true it is, that illustrative agents that attract the eye are
far more successful than words which tickle the ear. Is it
not also true that a general who harangues his soldiers
before the battle, does not excite their enthusiastic courage
half so much, as when they see him, sword in hand, lead
on the desperate charge, and fight in front covered with
dust and blood ?
When the sinner contemplates the saint (who has been
one like unto himself, subject to the selfsame weaknesses
and frailties), he thinks of his cowardice in the practices*
of virtue, which he persuaded himself were too difficult,
and he reflects, and ends in condemning his folly and
malice. This is what St. Gregory says : Dum peccator
justum considerate seipsum arguit atque condemnat.
When, for example, your fine people, who live in the
lap of luxury, or are hangers-on at the court of royalty,
deem it derogatory to their high dignity to conform to the
precepts of the Gospel ; when they see a St. Louis, a St
Edward, a St. Casimir, the Eleazars, and others who were
in a higher station in life, and more illustrious and valiant;
when they read of kings living in the strict observance of
the commandments, they are compelled to confess that
they have deceived themselves, by fancying that the prac-
tice of every virtue is incompatible or inconsistent with their
rank in life ; when that judge, that merchant, that man of
business, looks at David, who, though loaded with the
cares of a kingdom, managed to find time to pray to God
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ON GOOD EXAMPLE.
353
seven times a day, and to employ hours in meditating
upon eternity ; when that delicate dame, who cannot en-
dure the smell that exhales from the poor, sees the SS.
Elizabeths of Hungary and of Portugal, and many other
princesses visiting the hospitals every day, joyfully devot-
ing hours to the care of the poor sick, to dressing their
sores, to making their beds, to performing every kind of
menial office ; in fine, when bad and cowardly Christians
contemplate the fervent lives of the saints, they are forced
to acknowledge that it is their tepidity, their want of faith,
that cramp their feeble efforts, and not the difficulty of
sanctity. In truth, says St. Gregory the Great, when God
brings before them those irreproachable witnesses, of which
Job makes mention, they have no answer, no excuse, but
are compelled to acknowledge their guilt.
I know full well that we all have not the capacity to
write books on the defence of the faith that is in us, but
we can all be living commentators on the perfection of
every virtue. We all have not the authority to mount the
pulpit and preach against vice, but we can preach, as St.
Francis did, by the language of our works, which is far
more persuasive than a sermon. We all are not rich enough
to give abundant alms, but we can, if we wish, practise
charity towards our neighbours in a more excellent way,
and that is by good example; we can gently lead them on
to God, who is the giver of all good gifts. This we all can
do, if we wish.
It is related of St. Bernardine, that he had so grave and
modest an air, that hi3 presence alone inspired recollection
in his companions. We read also, that many were con-
verted by only looking upon St Lucian the Martyr.
Rev. Father Texier.
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354 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
105.— On <ftooD auoriusf.
St. Chrysostom and Father Segneri.
*' In all things, show thyself an example of good works." —Titus ii. 7.
The forgetfulness of our good works is, in itself, our surest
safeguard.
If you publicly display gold and precious vestments, you
invite thieves to find out the means of robbing you ; but if
you keep them hidden in some secret corner of your dwell-
ing, they will be safe.
As it is with riches, so it is the same with virtues and
good works. If we keep them in our memory, and as it
were, expose them for sale, we arm our enemies against
ourselves, and invite them to deprive us of the merit. But
if they are known only to Him who knows everything, we
shall possess and keep them in hopeful security.
Do not, therefore, expose the riches of your good works,
for fear of their being taken from you, as was the case with
the Pharisee, who carrying on his lips the treasures of his
good works, gave Satan the opportunity of robbing him.
He spoke only of giving thanks, and displayed his good
works to God ; nevertheless, that did not shelter him, for
it was not to return thanks to God, but to seek to be
praised by many, to insult others, and to raise himself
above them all.
If you return thanks to God, think only of pleasing Him
alone; do not seek to be known by men, and do not judge
your neighbour.
St. Chrysostom.
On Matthew iii.
.... • . •
When we neglect nothing and are careful to store up
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ON GOOD WORKS.
355
the little gains we can make, we shall insensibly increase
our riches ; it is nearly the same with spiritual riches.
Since our Divine Lord and Judge will keep an account
of a glass of water, there is no good action we ought to
despise, however small it may appear, and we must not be
grieved if we cannot do great things; little things naturally
are the forerunners of great actions. Neglect the former,
and you will not be capable to do the latter.
It was to prevent this misfortune that Jesus Christ has
promised to reward us for little things.
There is nothing more easy than visiting a sick person,
nevertheless, God has fixed a great reward for this good
work, however easy it may appear.
As the prospect of an abundant harvest soothes the
labours and cheers the heart of the husbandman — so in
like manner the hope and reward ought to support us and
relieve our fatigues : Debet in spe qui arat arare. The
harvest will be ours, for " In due time we shall reap "
{Gal. vi.) We cannot cherish a doubt of this, without
questioning the fidelity of the Lord our God.
The labourer, notwithstanding his wise precautions, his
indefatigable care, his well-founded hopes, may, in a single
night, find his fields torn and spoiled by a mighty storm or
by some other accident. But the just man has nothing to
fear. Let him but persevere in the practice of good works,
and nothing in the world can hinder him the fruit : " And
in doing good let us not fail; for in due time we shall
reap, not failing " (Gal. vi. 9).
Some commentators explain those words of the Apostle
in another way. It is right, say they, that we should
sow without respite; since, in heaven, the harvest will be
eternal : " We shall reap, not failing." This is the opinion
of St. Augustine : —
St. Chrysostom.
Opuscules.
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Do not relax in your efforts, says the holy doctor, and
God will not fail to reward you. But if you tire of your
work or flag in your efforts, the judgments of the Lord,
says a prophet, will overwhelm you, like those bitter weeds
that grow in the midst of the wheat. The words of the
Apostle signify that we should not cease from preparing
for the harvest : " We shall reap, not failing."
The husbandmen do not allow themselves to be over-
fatigued, although they reap with joy ; but the saints who
gather in heaven what they have sown, partake of the
purest pleasures in unalterable joy and pleasures ever new.
Who could have a disrelish in the abode of glory : " What
shall come of thee by the pleasure of the Most High "
(Eccles. xli.) The fruit of a few years is there, provided
the work be persevered in. The choice of seed, the good
soil, the beauty of the season do not produce a good harvest,
if the seeds are not protected from the birds, who swarm
to carry them away. That signifies, that we must conceal
from men the good we do, and not seek for their esteem and
praise, for this will deprive you of the merit in the sight
of God. If foolish souls, by displaying the good they do,
do not lose all the merit, they, at least, lose the greater
part. You have sown, but you have reaped but little;
the birds of heaven have eaten what you have sown. That
is to say, the thoughts of vanity which are in your heart,
and which you have complacently encouraged, will have
deprived you of the reward which was prepared for you.
Conceal then, with humility, your good works, when they
are not necessary to be witnessed.
The time will come when you shall receive the reward a
hundredfold.
" For in due time we shall reap, not failing/*
Father Segneri, S.J.
Meditations.
ON HOLINESS AND PERFECTION.
357
106.— Dn ^olinm anti perfection.
Pere D'Argentan and St. Ambrose.
Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect."
• — Matthew v. 48.
No, I must no longer say that holiness is too high a state
for such a miserable wretch as I am to aspire to. I feel
sure that God calls me to it, and that He wishes to con-
duct me, since He has prepared the way. I am sure that
He wills that I should dare to aspire to it, and that I
should do my utmost to reach perfection.
Indeed, what could I wish to be, if I did not wish to be
a saint ? I must then be a reprobate, for there is no middle
course, either a saint or a reprobate. I must neither say
that I am too weak and frail to pretend to become a saint ;
I know but too well that I am a poor frail mortal, but I
also know that my Redeemer, who has spared no pains to
make me a saint, has taken upon Himself my infirmities, in
order to clothe me with His strength, and that I can say
with St. Paul, I can do all in Him who strengthens me.
What, then, have I to do to make me really and truly
holy, according to the intention of the Son of God, who
calls me to sanctity? I have only to put on the Lord
Jesus, as the same Apostle says. Is there anything more
easy, provided that I have the will ? If it were a question
of amassing great riches to be holy, many obstacles would
have to be overcome, many legitimate pretexts would have
to be decided, for each one would dispute who should have
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them ; but holiness partly consists in despising riches, and
in not allowing them to retain a hold of the heart.
In the same way, if, to be a saint, it was found necessary
to be raised to great honours, or noble employments, or
to undertake the management of a city or state, holiness
would cost so dear that few persons would venture to
accept the burden, and it would afford an excuse to many
to decline the trial ; but what can hinder us, when we are
told that the surest and safest road to sanctification is, to
cherish a hidden life, to love humility and lowliness ?
In conclusion, to be virtuous and holy, if it were necessary
to enjoy the pleasures of this life, would it not cost much ?
should we not have to go to great expense? and often,
even then, should we not find much that was bitter, where
we expected nought but pleasure and sweetness ? But
to renounce sensual gratifications, to be content to suffer
all the crosses inseparable from every condition of life, to
prefer a mortified life of austerity and penance, is this what
every one can do? And thus, as there is no one who can-
not but be holy and virtuous if he likes, it follows that all
excuses must be frivolous, and cannot be allowed for, at
the judgment-seat of God.
What! is it then so difficult to love the three things
which the Saviour of men has so much loved, and which
contain every essential of a truly sanctified life, namely,
poverty, contempt, and crosses ?
These three things often accompany a sanctified life,
and we have so great a dread of them that we look upon
them, as mortal enemies. Instead of this we should seek
for them, and embrace them as the best means of becom-
ing saints, thus becoming as so many sources of merit, and
with these, we heap up treasures which will enrich us for all
eternity. It is true that our lower nature feels a natural
repugnance to, and rebels against, such strong remedies,
but the grace of our Saviour, who comes to our aid, gives
ON HOLINESS AND PERFECTION.
359
us additional strength. It is this grace which, being the
overflowing of His Divine Spirit, infuses into a soul a love
of those things which He so much loved ; and He clothes it
with a holy strength, in order that, by a supernatural virtue,
he may embrace that which it fled from through a natural
repugnance.
And how many saints, who were men like ourselves,
and subject to the same infirmities, have been happier,
more contented in their poverty, than the rich worldlings
with all their treasures ? How many of them have felt
a sweeter consolation in the midst of scorn and contempt,
than the most ambitious have felt, even when loaded with
honours ? And how many have felt a holier joy, even when
carrying a heavy cross, than the sensualists in the midst of
their pleasures.
Le Pere D'Argentan.
Conference, No. 23.
How can a truly virtuous man fail in anything? In
what situation, will he not be powerful ; in what state of
poverty, will he not be rich ; in what obscurity, will he not
be brilliant ; in what inaction, will he not be industrious ;
in what infirmity, will he not be vigorous ; in what weak-
ness, will he not be strong ; in what solitude, will he not
be accompanied ? for he will have for company the hope
of a happy eternity; for clothing, he will have the grace of
the Most High ; for ornament, the promises of a halo of
glory!
Let us recollect that the Saints were not of a more
excellent nature than ours, but were more orderly and
regular; that they were not exempt from sins, but that
they took pains to correct their faults.
St. Ambrose.
De Joseph.
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107.— On Ipuman Ee#pect
Massillon and St. Gregory.
" Do I seekjfc) please men? If I yet pleased men, I should not be a servant of
Christ. Galatians i xo. .
HUMAN respect outrages the dignity of God, for the gran-
deur of the Creator requires that it should not be put in
comparison with man, whom He has drawn from the slime
of the earth, and all other greatnesses can be only regarded
as nothing.
Now, wishing on the one hand to give yourself up to
God, and kept back on the other hand by the fear of man,
you say to Him ; O Lord, I would devote myself to You,
and I would serve You in preference to any one else, if,
situated as I am, I was allowed to serve You without ex-
posing myself to the criticism of the world ; I should like
to be able to break off all connection with the world, and
to consecrate all to You alone, if, in declaring myself
openly, I did not attract the notice of a thousand danger-
ous enemies. I feel a very great affection, it is true ; You
have filled my soul with a wholesome inclination for virtue,
and I dream of being relieved from my grievous faults, of
which I am a very slave; nevertheless, I have not the
courage to put into practice my wish, for fear of losing the
esteem of the world.
I feel that I am called upon to lead a life of piety; how-
ever, I drag my chains after me, although with regret, be-
cause the world does not wish to love You, and even does
not wish me to love You.
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ON HUMAN RESPECT.
361
Ah ! if it depended solely on myself to choose the path,
I would be all in all for You, O Lord ; You would be the
sole master of my heart, and one would see that, from
henceforth, I would do that which I have not done in
times past; but You well know what a number of bitter
reproaches I should have to endure, were I to make known
to the world my determination. You know that the world
is most unmerciful to those who leave it, in order to enter
into Your service, and, since I must say it, I feel that I
have not the moral courage to despise the world, and that
I have still the weakness of forgetting You, by remaining
in its service.
I know what many would say, in answer to this. It is
sufficient, they say, to serve Almighty God in secret, to
give Him our hearts, without making any outward- show
of our devotion. Is there any need of making a parade of
conversion, which can be done secretly, without the world
knowing anything about it ? Must we give to the public a
sight where vanity and vainglory might possibly play a
greater part than that of true piety ? Can we not give to
God a clean heart, and a faith so fervent that He will
accept it ?
A sinner, cannot he do good, serve God, weep for his
sins, practise virtue, without its being known to men ? A
just and good man, can he not live by faith, without the
world being cognisant of it ?
I know that we must conform to the decorous usages
and customs of the world, that we must accommodate our-
selves to the times and places, that we must take certain
measures with regard to our position in society, that
charity prompts us to conceal much from the eyes of men,
that we must be weak with the weak, strong with the
strong, all to all, as says the great Apostle, and there is
even a merit in hiding the good we do.
But I say that the allegiance we owe to the Almighty
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is divided between God and a world which we ought to
hate, and which world we flatter, by concealing our con-
version and serving God in secret.
It is my opinion that it is being only half a Christian to
blush at being all for Jesus, after unblushingly and wilfully
following the pernicious maxims of the world.
• ••••••
Since a God-made man had become the jest of madmen,
since He has been exposed to insults innumerable for love
of you, can you wish to conceal your duty to Him, and to
suffer something for His sake ?
O man ! how you ought to blush for being so ungrate-
ful, and not give some tokens of affection to your God,
who has loaded you with so many blessings, and especially
the crowning gift of conversion. I do not say that your
declaring yourself openly for God is unworthy of a generous
man ; but if you believe in His justice, why dissimulate
when you have once embraced His service ? A soul that
has been reared in pious society, would not know how to
counterfeit. If you have been taught to love our Lord, if
you have promised to serve Him, why do you wish to con-
ceal your love ?
You pique yourself on having strength of mind, on hav-
ing a moral courage in the business of this world, and in
religion you are weaker than the ordinary run of mortals.
There is nothing we ought to dread more, than giving
the preference to the fear of man, to that of the fear of
Massillon.
Discourse on Human Respect.
God.
St. Gregory.
On the Proverbs.
ON HUMILITY.
363
108.— On $umttttg.
St. Francis de Sales and Father Faber.
" The prayer of the humble and the meek hath always pleased Thee."
— Judith be. 16.
If, for acts of a true and sincere devotion the world shall
esteem you mean, abject, or foolish, humility will make
you rejoice at this happy reproach, the cause of which is
not in you, but in those that reproach you.
What is it to love your own abjection ? In Latin,
abjectio signifies humility, and humility signifies abjection ;
so that, when our Blessed Lady, in her sacred canticle,
says that all generations should call her blessed, because
our Lord had regarded the humility of His handmaid, her
meaning is, that our Lord had graciously looked down on
her abjection, her meanness and lowliness, to heap His
graces and favours upon her.
Nevertheless, there is a difference between the virtue of
humility and abjection; for our abjection is the lowliness, m
meanness, and baseness that is in us, without our being
aware of it, whereas the virtue of humility is a true know-
ledge and a voluntary acknowledgment of our abjection.
Now the main point of this humility consists in being
willing, not only to acknowledge our abjections, but in
loving and delighting in it ; and this, not through want of
courage and generosity, but for the greater exaltation of
the Divine Majesty, and holding our neighbour in greater
estimation than ourselves.
Praise, honour, and glory, are not given to men for
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every degree of virtue, but for an excellence of virtue ; for
by praise we endeavour to persuade others to esteem the
excellency of those whom we praise ; by honour we testify
that we ourselves esteem them ; and glory, in my opinion,
is nothing but a certain lustre of reputation, that arises
from the concurrence of praise and honour ; so that honour
and praise are like precious stones, from a collection of
which, glory proceeds like a certain enamelling. Now
humility, not enduring that we should have any opinion
of our own excellence, or think ourselves worthy to be
preferred before others, consequently cannot permit that
we should hunt after praise, honour, or glory, which are
only due to excellence.
Let us incessantly fix our eyes on Jesus Christ crucified,
and march on in His service with confidence and sincerity,
but yet with wisdom and discretion. He will be the pro-
tector of our reputation; and should He suffer it to be
taken from us, it will be either to restore it with advantage,
or to make us profit in holy humility, one ounce of which
is preferable to ten thousand pounds of honours.
Humility is the perfume of God. It is the fragrance
which He leaves behind, who cannot be humbled Himself,
because He is God. It is the odour, the stain, the token
that the Creator leaves upon the creature, when He has
pressed upon it for a moment. It must be a law of the
world of grace, because we find it in Mary, in the saints, and
in the faintest, most nearly indistinguishable way in our-
selves. Perhaps it is something inseparable from God. We
trace the Most High, the Incommunicable, by it in the Old
Testament. We trace Jesus by it in the New. The glory
of humility is in the human nature of our Lord, on which
the mysterious pressure of the Divine Nature rested for
St. Francis de Sales.
ON HUMILITY.
365
evermore. It is this inevitable perfume that God leaves
behind Him which hinders His altogether hiding His
traces from us. It is " the myrrh, and stacte, and cassia
from His ivory houses."
Mary has found Him, and she has laid down in the
lowliest, most flowery valley of humility, and the fragrance
of God has perfumed her garments, her " gilded clothing
surrounded with variety."
Humility grows far more rapidly, and blossoms more
abundantly, in the mere thought of the immensity of God's
love of us, and the unintelligible prodigality of His fatherly
affection for us, where there is no thought of self at all,
even in the way of merited self-reproach. This vision, for
it is nothing but a beautiful celestial vision, overshadows
our souls. The fires of our selfish passions go out in it.
The glare of the world seems softened through it. There
is nothing to distract us in the absorbing simplicity of this
one sight which we are beholding. There is nothing to
awaken self-love, and to aim it against the nobler or better
thoughts of self-forgetfulness.
Humility is never more intense than when it is thus
simply overwhelmed by love; and never can our souls
be more completely overwhelmed by love than when they
rest, silent and wonderstricken, beneath the shadow of the
Blessed Sacrament.
Nothing teaches us humility so much as the Blessed
Sacrament Our hearts for very love are constrained to
imitate Him in our own feeble way, and to worship Him
in His sacramental presence by a continual exercise of
interior humility.
Father Faber (Orat.)
Foot of the Cross and the Blessed Sacrament.
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109.— Dn tfce Lofte of our jQetgfrfiour*
IN reference to this commandment, St. Bernardine, of
Sienna, remarks, that we should love our neighbour with
a genuine affection, and not in the same way as we love
things necessary or useful, such as bread, a house, and
other things which are for our use or for our amusement ;
these we do not love as ourselves, but for ourselves.
St Chrysostom says that when the Son of God gave us
the best of prayers, He did not intend that we should say
"My Father" but, Our Father; inasmuch, as we have a
common Father in heaven we should consider all men as
our brethren, and that in this way we should love each
other with a mutual love, with a love stronger in grace
than in nature, as we have all an equal right to a voca-
tion to a supernatural life, the same hope of a heavenly
reward.
. * • • • • •
How sweet is this command ! exclaims the saintly Jesuit,
PSre de la Colombi&re ; does it not appear to be worthy of
the goodness and wisdom of God ? Is it not reasonable
that men who are endowed with one and the same nature,
who have one and the same Father in heaven, who are
" The love of our neighbour is the fulfilment of the law."
— Romans xiii. 8.
Short Extracts from Divers Saints.
ON THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR.
367
obliged to live in society, who are all fellow-travellers,
and who ought to meet again in heaven, is it not reason-
able, says he, that we should love one another here below,
and should help one another in the same degree as we
would wish to be helped ourselves ?
The love of our neighbour may be placed in the same
category as the love we owe to God. All who say " Lord,
Lord" (that is to say, all who say that they love God),
shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Good works and
proofs of that love are requisite. He alone will enter the
kingdom of heaven who does the will of My Father. The
same may be said of the love of our neighbour. We must
show it by solid proofs.
As a Christian, you are expressly to love your neighbour,
therefore it is certain that you will best show your affec-
tion, by tendering all the help that it may be in your
power to give him.
The love of our neighbour, says St. Paul, is a debt which
is not discharged in the ordinary way ; that is to say, a
debt once paid, is paid once for all. This is what St. Paul
means, we are always beholden in the love we are obliged
to have for one another.
The more you pay in love and charity, the more you
will owe, says St. Augustine.
He who, says St. Fulgentius, does not believe that he
has aught to pay to his neighbour, as if he had discharged
the debt, but he ought rather to weep for himself as being
without charity.
Do not believe that, when you have forgiven your brother,
you have cancelled the obligation, and that you have
already given sufficient proofs of your love.
368 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
We are ever indebted to our brethren, on occasion of the
mutual bond there is between you and them.
We are members of the same body, and if charity be not
in our hearts, we renounce this bond ; and being no longer
united with our neighbour, we have no claim on the love of
Jesus, our Model and Master.
St. Chrysostom also says, in his Homilies of St. Matthew:
One loves because he is loved, another because he is hon-
oured, another because he thinks that it will be of service
to him ; but, alas ! how seldom it is that you meet with a
person who loves his brother as he ought for the sake of
Jesus. Nearly all friends are allied by the bonds of an
affection which is of the world, worldly.
St. Bernard says, that he who does not love God, cannot
love his neighbour with a sincere affection ; God therefore
must be our first love, in order that we may be able to love
our neighbour, in God and for God.
St. Philip Neri tells us, that in dealing with our neigh-
bour, we must assume as much pleasantness, of manner as
we can, and by this affability, win him to the way of
virtue.
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ON THE LOVE OF OUR ENEMIES.
369
110.— jfl)n tfte Lotie of our 4Enemte&
Archbishop Carranza, Le Pere Joly, and
St. Gregory of Nazianzen.
" But I say to you : Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray
for those who persecute you, and for those who calumniate you, in order that you
may be the children of your Father who is in heaven."— Matthew v. 44.
[Bartholomew de Carranza, Archbishop of Toledo, was born at
Miranda in Navarre. He joined the Order of St. Dominic, and was
afterwards Professor of Theology in his Dominican College. In 1545
he was sent to the Council of Trent. In 1554, Philip II., having
espoused Queen Mary, brought B. de Carranza to England, where he
did his utmost to convert many to the One Faith. On Philip's return
to Spain, this king nominated him to the Archbishopric of Toledo.
Calumniated by his enemies, he suffered with patience a long im-
prisonment, and died in the year 1576.
Gregory XIII. wrote an epitaph for his tomb, in which he spoke of
him as a man, equally illustrious for his virtues as his learning, — a
man modest in prosperity, and patient in adversity.]
LET us reflect seriously, on the condition made by our
Saviour when He taught us to say to our heavenly Father
those words, " Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who have trespassed against us."
How easy it is to obtain pardon, if we do that which
mainly depends on our own exertions ; for we have a right
to ask for pardon from our Lord, if we have forgiven those
who may have trespassed against us. One could not
realise this, did we not meditate on the wondrous wisdom
of the Son of God.
His design being to establish charity amongst men, He
makes use of the want we all experience of having need •
2 A
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of His mercy; and since the state of sin is our greatest
misery, He is willing to grant to us the remission of sin,
on condition that we do unto our neighbours the greatest
favour we have it in our power to bestow, namely, the
forgiveness of their trespasses against us.
Let us endeavour to walk in the footsteps of those
patriarchs and early martyrs mentioned in Holy Scripture.
Let us imitate a Joseph, who repaid with presents all the
outrages he had received from his brothers; a Moses, who
prayed for that rebellious people who were continually
waging war against him ; a David, who to Saul returned
good for evil; a St. Stephen, who, when he was being
stoned to death, implored pardon from God for his execu-
tioners ; a St. Paul, who, after having been cruelly perse-
cuted by the Jews, worked incessantly for their conversion.
These grand examples, ought jthey not to teach us to do
good to those who are our enemies ?
[Abb£ Joly, Dean of Langres Cathedral, President of the Chamber
of Deputies of Burgundy, was born at Dijon in 171 5, and died in 1775.
He was a priest of considerable literary attainments, and published
several useful works, in his native city.]
I also say to you, Love your enemies. It is I, says
Jesus, who speak to you.
If a mere man had said so, you would point out the
gravity of the offence, and the justice of your resentment
If a person, for whom you have the highest respect, were
to entreat you to forgive another, you might, perhaps,
answer that you could obey him in all things else, but in
this case you have been very deeply wronged. If a prince
or king were to tell you the like, you would suspend your
vengeance, and give some mark of an outward reconcilia-
tion, but in your heart, you would cherish a hatred which
would burst forth, sooner or later.
B. Carranza.
ON THE LOVE OF OUR ENEMIES.
371
But it is God who speaks ; it is God who commands you
to "love your enemies, and do good to those that hate
you." To so precise a command, what have you to an-
swer ? Consider, says Tertullian, the dignity and infinite
majesty of Him who commands.
Do not speak of passion, human feelings, the pleasure
of revenge, the atrocity of the insult, the indignity of the
affront. It is God who speaks, and He must be obeyed.
Do not tell me that this is difficult. Was it difficult to
David ? Was it so to St. Stephen ?
It is difficult, I grant ; but it is God who has made it.
It is difficult; but it is His will that you should surmount
the difficulty.
If, in a violent persecution, He were to ask you to lay
down your life, as He has done to some martyrs, would
you refuse to give it Him ? If He asked for the last drop
of your blood, would you not shed it joyfully ?
He commands you to love your enemies and forgive
them, is not this enough !
Le Pere Joly.
• ••••• .
It is more glorious to bear silently an affront, in imita-
tion of Christ, than to retort with a sharp and sarcastic
reply.
If it should happen that the remembrance of an injury
stirs up your soul to anger, call to mind what the Son of
God has suffered for us, and how comparatively few have
been your sufferings. By this means, you will throw water
on the smouldering flames, and you will be the better
enabled to smother your resentment.
St. Gregory of Nazianzen.
Sentences.
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ill.— Dn agetittatfon anb Rental jprager.
" Before prayer prepare thy soul ; and be not, as a man that tempteth God.
The precious gift of prayer, so essential to religion, so
glorious to the creature, so favourable to the sinner, so
beneficial for all men, is, nowadays, either despised or
neglected. It is to induce us to practise this that the
Church proposes as our model the early Christians, who
had no better occupation, no more agreeable duty.
Indeed, O my God ! if we were only to think of its
advantage and benefit, what consolations, what sweetness,
would we not experience from it ? Forced to live for a
time in this land of exile, far from Thee, and far from Thy
celestial abode, what should we do without the salutary
exercise of prayer ?
What better consolation can we hope for, except by
taking advantage by this means of raising up our thoughts
to heaven, of placing ourselves in direct communication
with Thee, of consulting Thee in all our scruples, of expos-
ing all our wants, of telling Thee of all our troubles, or of
offering up all our pains and sufferings ?
What other resource can there be for us, except by this
holy exercise, by which we shall find an anointing grace
which can soften our griefs, a charitable hand to dry our
tears, a secret, sacred ray to enlighten our path, a Father
who will listen to our oetitions, a Physician who will cure
Massillon, St. Francis of Sales, and
Alphonse Rodriguez, SJ.
— ECCLBSIASTICUS xviii. 2>
ON MEDITATION AND MENTAL PRAYER.
373
all our infirmities, a Judge who will interest Himself in all
our concerns, a Master who is ever instructing us ?
What other consolation will remain, if we have neglected
to seek for this potent remedy ?
Massillon.
• •«•«••
Prayer places our understanding in the brightness and
light of God, and exposes our will to the heat of heavenly
love. There is nothing that so effectually purges our
understanding from its ignorance, or our will from its
depraved affections, as prayer. It is the water of bene-
diction, which makes the plants of our good desires grow
green and flourish. It washes our souls from their imper-
fections, and quenches the thirst of passion in our hearts.
But, above all, I recommend mental and cordial prayer,
and particularly that which has the life and passion of our
Lord for its object. By making Him the frequent subject
of your meditation, your whole soul will be replenished
with Him; you shall learn His carriage, and frame all
your actions according to this model. As He is the
light of the world, it is then by Him, in Him, and for Him
that we ought to acquire lustre and be enlightened. He
is the tree of desire, under whose shadow we ought to
refresh ourselves. He is the living fountain of Jacob, in
which we may wash away all our stains.
In fine, as little children, by hearing their mother talk,
lisp at first, and learn at length to speak their language ; so
we, by keeping close to our Saviour by meditation, and
observing His words, actions, and affections, shall, by the
help of His grace, learn to speak, to act, and to will, like
Him.
St. Francis de Sales.
• • • • • . •
The first thing we must do in prayer is, to represent to
ourselves, by the help of our memory, the point or mystery
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which we may wish to be the subject of our prayer. Then
the understanding must examine this point, and consider
all the particulars of it. Finally, the will must produce
acts, according as the understanding has digested the matter,
which had been proposed to it by the memory. But since
this discourse of the understanding is the source whence all
our acts in prayer flow; and since we can make no act
which does not necessarily spring from this our meditation,
it follows that we must be particularly careful to make this
well.
The truth is, this proposition is self-evident, for there is
no one that has the least tincture of philosophy, but knows
that the will is a blind power, unable to attach itself to
anything, unless the understanding guides it. Hence it
is a maxim received by all philosophers, "that nothing
can be willed unless it is first known." The will, having
of itself no light, must borrow it from the understanding,
which goes before it to give it knowledge, and to discover
what it ought to love or hate. It is this that made St
Augustine say, that " we may love the things we never
saw, but never those we have not known ;" and St. Gregory
says, " No one can love what he is entirely ignorant of."
The reason of this is, that the object of the will being a
known good, we cannot love anything, but because we per-
ceive it is good and deserving of love; just as, on the
contrary, we do not hate a thing or fly from it, unless we
conceive it to be bad, and deserving of hatred.
It is clear, therefore, that the operation of the under-
standing is the foundation of all our acts in prayer; whence
it follows, that meditation is most necessary, and that
prayer cannot be perfect, unless meditation goes before, or
accompanies it, as says Hugo of St. Victor.
A. Rodriguez, S.J.
From " Christian Perfection:'
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ON MEEKNESS.
375
112.— flDn ^eefcneiff&
St. Ambrose.
" Blessed are the meek : for they shall possess the land."
—Matthew v. 4.
We must accustom ourselves to perform all our actions
with quiet serenity ; force of habit can correct or subdue
the most obstinate bad temper. But because some are
naturally so impetuous and violent, that it is difficult to
effect an immediate cure ; it would be as well to reflect on
the motives which engender impatience, in order to induce
us to effect a gradual cure.
When ebullitions of passion come upon us so suddenly,
that there is no time for reflection, we must at least try to
soothe them, if we cannot immediately master them. It
is sometimes proper to make a desperate effort; but we
must always try to conquer by degrees, more especially
when the first bursts of impatience or anger assail us. It
is recommended in Holy Writ; give time for anger to
evaporate, and then extinguish it entirely. We must not
only do what we can to prevent our getting into a passion,
but we must use greater efforts to subdue it when it does
come on. Those little outbursts of petulance, which are
more amusing than bitter, are innocent in children ; they
fire up and are appeased in a moment, and all is soon for-
gotten. Let us not be ashamed to imitate them in this ;
for does not our Saviour say, If you do not become as
little children, you cannot enter into the kingdom of
heaven?
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Never answer an angry person with a haughty haste ;
*f he be ill-tempered, why fall into the same fault ? When
two flinty stones are quickly rubbed together, sparks will
fly out
If you cannot cure anger by those means which a calmer
judgment would suggest, you must have recourse to strata-
gem. Patience is a great assistant ; for time softens the
most violent passion. If we should be exposed to the pro-
vocations of a person, who is continually having recourse
to sharp, impertinent answers, and we feel that we have not
sufficient command over our own temper, we can, at least,
moderate our tongue by keeping silent. Holy Scripture
gives us this advice : " Suffer in silence, and do not have
recourse to sharp retorts," you can then seek reconcilia-
tion, and do your best to make it lasting.
We have a noble example in the conduct of Jacob. His
first care was to keep his ftiind free from any temptation
to break the precept of meekness.
If you have not the strength of mind to do this, at any
rate, you can bridle your tongue, and allow no bitter reply
to escape your lips. When you have taken all such pre-
cautions, you will find that more is to be done to secure
a mild and even temper.
Would you wish to know how to act when any injury or
affront is imposed on you ? Above all, do not return evil
for evil; pay no attention to the malice of another; there
is no occasion to be wicked, because another is wicked.
Take care to preserve self-respect, and do nothing which
might be a reproach for you afterwards.
The heathens have often quoted a sensible reply of one
of their philosophers. One of his attendants had greatly
displeased him by an act of gross injustice. Go ! unhappy
man, said he, how severely would I punish you, were I not
angry!
King David acted in a similar way ; at a time when he
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377
was tempted to inflict vengeance, he gained a complete
victory over his temper, by not uttering a single word to
those who had wronged him. Abigail, by her entreaties,
calmed that gentle prince, who was at the head of his
soldiers, and who was on his road to avenge the insults of
It is a sure sign of a noble disposition, if you listen to
sincere petitions, and grant what is demanded of you.
David always felt rejoiced when he forgave his enemies,
and he praised the cleverness of that woman, who sq well
knew his tenderness of heart, that she obtained all she
sought for. That royal prophet was not insensible to
injury, for he cries out, — I am hurt at what evil-disposed
persons have said ; had I consulted my evil genius, I should
have rejoiced to inflict vengeance. But this glorious and
pacific king, on second thoughts, continues to say — Oh !
who will give me the wings of the dove, that I may seek
peace in flight ? And notwithstanding all their insults and
outrages, he preferred to remain in peace.
He says in another place : * Be angry, but sin not."
This is a moral precept, which teaches us to allay any little
asperity which we cannot altogether stifle.
Meekness preserves within us the image of God, but
anger .blots it out. If any hard or cutting words should
inadvertently escape from your lips, apply the remedy
and cure, from the same mouth that caused so sensitive
a wound.
Nabal.
St. Ambrose.
Dc Officii t.
St. Augustine.
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113.— €>n agoUeiBttg.
St. Ambrose and Alphonse Rodriguez.
" The fruit of modesty is the fear of the Lord, riches, and glory, and life."
MODESTY is a great relief to our words and actions; it
prevents us from committing many faults, and from giving
utterance to words likely to shock those who listen to us.
Often an inconsiderate word betrays us, and reveals our
secret thoughts. Modesty should even regulate the sound
of our voice, so that it may soften down any violent out-
burst, and should never depart from the rules .prescribed.
Silence, the guardian of our hidden virtues, is also very
necessary for the preservation of modesty, and is very
beneficial when kept under properly, not however dis-
dainfully, or in a contemptuous, haughty way. Modesty
should pervade all that is exterior — our walk, our gestures,
and our movements. All outside appearances reveal the
condition of our mind ; although our passions are hidden,
they manifest themselves exteriorly ; one easily knows if
a man is fickle, haughty, mischievous, or if he is wise,
patient, and reserved ; the motion of the body is a species
of voice which bespeaks all that is passing in the soul.
We often see some people walk as if they were on the
stage of a theatre, who march as if they were counting their
steps, or who move about like dummies. I can well under-
stand that a well-educated person should not walk or run
hastily, unless necessity or fear compels him to do so : I
fancy that he should be neither too fast nor too slow in
— Pkovbrbs xxiL 4.
ON MODESTY.
379
his movements, nor that he should be as stiff as a statue.
There is a medium in all things.
A man of good breeding should, even in walking, keep
up a certain decorum and gravity, without affectation or
pompous display. This gravity should be natural, devoid
of artifice or constraint. All that is counterfeit or unna-
tural will always be unpleasing.
Modesty is suitable for all ages, and for all classes of
persons ; for all times and places ; it is especially becoming
in youth, and is essentially the dowry of all young people.
In whatsoever state or condition of life we may be placed,
we should carefully cherish decorum in all we do, and
make this the business of our life.
An old philosopher remarks, that we should even regu-
late our manners with a certain seasoning, or rather a
certain something; I know not how to express, which im-
parts a gracefulness to all we do. We must not, however,
let this agreeableness appear affected, for nothing unnatural
can ever be pleasing.
The tone of our voice should be firm, and neither mincing
nor effeminate. There are some who disguise their words
with an affectation of false gravity, savouring somewhat of
malice or sarcasm.
We should further examine into what is appropriate for
every one. What would be suitable for one sex, would
often be ridiculous for the other. All that we may wish
to do, however, we cannot hope to please everybody.
Let not your manners appear affected or effeminate,
but above all, avoid all that is rude, gross, or impolite.
Let us follow all that nature inspires us with. If we try
to be natural, we shall the more easily keep within the
bounds of decorum and good breeding.
St. Ambrose.
Officii, i., xviii., xix.
380 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
It is certain that there is nothing more edifying, more
winning, than a wise and modest exterior; because men
can only see what is outside, and it is that exterior which
moves and preaches more than a torrent of words. In-
deed, a humble and mortified exterior has often induced
people to be devout, and has given them a contempt for
worldly things ; it has excited sinners to compunction, and
has raised up their hearts to heavenly things.
It is a dumb preaching, more effective than the most
eloquent of sermons ; and the reason why men so esteem
modesty and propriety, and are so edified by them, is that
they always draw this inference therefrom, that there must
be much that is good within. The face, says St. Jerome,
is the mirror of the soul, and the eyes, dumb as they are,
reveal hidden secrets; there is no mirror which better
reflects exterior objects.
In the 19th chapter of Ecclesiasticus we read : " A man
is known by his look, and a wise man, when thou meetest
him, is known by his countenance. The attire of the
body, and the laughter of the teeth, and the gait of the
man, show what he is." And the Holy Ghost, speaking
through the mouth of the wise man, says : " An unprofit-
able man walketh with a perverse mouth; he winketh
with the eyes, presseth with the foot, speaketh with the
finger" (Prov. vi. 12).
Besides this, as an outward wicked deportment is an
index of inward disorder, so exterior modesty is a sign of
inward composure. It is on account of this that men are
usually moved and edified by it.
St. Gregory of Nazianzen, speaking of Julian the Apos-
tate, says: "A great many knew not Julian, till he made
himself known by his infamous actions, and by his abuse
of sovereignty ; but for my part, when I first knew him,
and lived and conversed with him at Athens, I never
could perceive the least sign of goodness in him. He
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ON MODESTY.
381
carried his head extremely high; his shoulders, as well
as his eyes, were always in motion; his behaviour was
haughty and fierce; his feet never stood still; every
moment either anger caused his nostrils to swell, or
disdain drew them in. He was continually trying to
be witty, or would indulge in low and coarse buffoonery,
and his laughter was ungraciously loud. He would freely
grant and deny the same thing in the same breath; he
would speak without rule or judgment; he would ask
silly questions, and give impertinent answers.
u By such exterior marks as these, I knew him before-
hand, long before I was made acquainted with his impiety,
and this news only confirmed my former judgment of him.
" Those that lived with us then at Athens, were they here
present, would testify that, having observed his manners,
I exclaimed, Oh ! city of Rome, what a monster art thou
feeding ! This I then said, and at the same time I heartily
wished I might be mistaken ; and without doubt it had
been much better that I had been so, since we then, should
not have seen those evils which have almost rendered the
world desolate."
Thus you see that an irregular exterior is a mark of a
disordered interior ; as an exterior modesty is a mark of
a composed interior, which is the reason why men are
ordinarily so much moved and edified by it.
Alphonse Rodriguez.
On Christian Perfection, x.
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114.— Dn ^ortificattom
Fathers Segneri, Croiset, and St. Bernard.
" If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily, and follow me."— Luke ix. 23.
THEY that are Christ's have crucified their flesh, with the
vices and concupiscences, said St. Paul (Ephes. i. 24).
Remark that he does not say, only those that are Christ's
have crucified their vices, but they that have crucified their
flesh with their vices.
This is, in order to effect a cure we must go to the
<ource, and the flesh is the root of the evils of our soul.
But in order to effect a perfect cure, we must chastise the
body, and bring it under subjection, and this the great
Apostle said of himself : " I chastise my body."
How do you act in this particular ? What harsh treat-
ment of your body do you practise ? Do you fast ? What
are the austerities you practise ?
If instead of mortifying your flesh, and bringing it under
subjection, you think only of feeding it, and procuring for
it every comfort, you are not Christ's. Why ? Because,
"they that are Christ's have crucified their flesh with the
vices and concupiscences."
It is not enough merely to crucify the flesh, but we must
crucify the vices. That is to say, we must add interior
mortification to exterior mortification. In fact, the one
should not be practised without the other ; for it would be
of little use to chastise the body, and bring it under sub-
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ON MORTIFICATION.
383
jection, if our hearts and affections slavishly cherish inor-
dinate desires.
St. Paul points out two things which we ought to de-
stroy, through the practice of interior mortification, namely,
our bad habits and our vices. Cum vitiis et concupiscentiis.
I say, our bad habits, for however careful we may be to
mortify ourselves, we always fall into some actual sin; but
as for habitual sins, if we fight them with courage and
perseverance, we shall in the end totally destroy them.
With regard to our vices, we do not entirely destroy them,
but we can at least weaken the power they have over us,
and if we cannot exterminate them on the cross, we can,
at least, attach them thereto, and this we ought to try to
do, if we wish to be Christ's ; for " They that are Christ's
have crucified . their flesh, and the vices and concupi-
scences."
The Apostle does not tell you, If you live according
to the Spirit, but he says, " If by the Spirit you mortify
the deeds of the flesh, you shall live" {Rom. viii. 13).
One can easily live according to the flesh, and that hap-
pens but too often ; but no man on earth can always live
according to the Spirit ; that pure spiritual life is to be
found only in heaven, where the flesh, then fully under the
control of the Spirit, does not feel the least inclination of
rebellion.
Thus what St. Paul recommends us is, to resist the
assaults of the flesh by curbing our desires, by checking
our ardour, by a continual opposition to the wicked sug-
gestions of our will ; in a word, by bridling our passions,
by these means, and thus overcoming every temptation.
Nevertheless, the Apostle does not require that kind of
mortification which consists in austerities, scourgings, &c,
although these are useful for humbling ourselves, and
bringing us under the dominion of the Spirit.
But the ordinary mortification, so indispensable to every
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Christian, is that we have just explained, "If by the
Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live."
Rev. Pere Segnerl
The exercise of interior mortification is a kind of
penance, which no one has a right to be dispensed from.
It has been the invariable custom of all the saints, and
known to those who have ever had a wish to be perfect
One has only to be attentive to the Spirit of God. The
love of Jesus is so ingenious on this point, that He inspires
the simplest and most unpolished minds with skilful
methods of self-mortification," that far surpass the compre-
hension of the worldly wise, and might pass off as so many
small miracles.
There is nothing happens that may not give us an op-
portunity of thwarting our inclinations; there is no time
or place that may not be chosen for practising interior
mortification, without in the least interfering with the rules
of common sense.
For example, we can'be silent when we have a desire to
talk, we can close our eyes when we wish to see. The
longing to hear the news, or to know what is going on,
what is done, what is said, the wish to see a person, to
relate an anecdote, to learn the success of a business which
interests us ; in a word, all over-eagerness is a subject of
mortification, that would prove to be of more than usual
merit, and of which God alone would be the witness.
Nothing is more plentiful than the opportunities of inte-
rior mortification. Mention of a few will be wonderfully
instructive. A word said a propos, a harmless joke, just to
enliven the conversation — these refrained from, might be
the matter of a beautiful sacrifice. There is scarcely an
hour in the day which does not afford us an opportunity
of mortification.
Meditations.
ON MORTIFICATION.
385
Sitting or standing, one can never fail of finding an in-
convenient seat or posture without being noticed.
A person may be often interrupted when particularly
engaged, and as often can reply with as much mildness
and civility, as if he had not been very busy. The ill-
humour of a person at home, the annoyances of a servant,
the ingratitude of a man who is indebted to you for past
kindnesses ; all these, may exercise the patience of a good
and pious man.
In conclusion, the inconveniences depending on place,
weather, or persons, which are endured unnoticed or un-
heeded, are petty opportunities of mortifying one's self, it
is true; but the mortification in these trifling matters is
not little ; it is very meritorious, and it may be said, that
the greatest graces are the fruit of these petty mortifica-
tions.
Pere Croiset.
Exercises de Piete.
• •«••••
A man must learn to treat his body as if it were diseased,
that is to say, he must abstain from the food he longs for,
but which would be hurtful to his body, and submit to
take that which would do it good, notwithstanding the
repugnance he may naturally feel.
Thus much for bodily mortification, but spiritual morti-
fication is a kind of martyrdom; it has not the visible
torture of the iron chain, but it has something far more
troublesome, and that is, its duration.
St. Bernard.
Epistle to his Brothers.
2 B
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115.— Dn DbeDtence*
SS. Francis de Sales, Gregory
and Pere Lambert.
" Let every soul be subject to higher powers ; for there is no power but from
God." — Romans xiil x.
There are two sorts of obedience, the one necessary, the
other voluntary. By that which is necessary, you must
obey your ecclesiastical superiors, as the Pope, the bishop,
the parish priest, and such as are commissioned by them;
as also your civil superiors, such as your Queen and the
magistrates she has established for administering justice;
and, finally, your domestic superiors, namely, your father
and mother, master and mistress.
Now this obedience is called necessary, because no man
can exempt himself from the duty of obeying his superiors,
God having placed them in authority to command and
govern, each in the department that is assigned to him.
You must then of necessity obey their commands ; but, to
be perfect, follow their counsels also, nay, even their de-
sires and inclinations, so far as charity and discretion will
permit. Obey them when they order that which is agree-
able, such as to eat, or to take recreation; for though
there seems no great virtue to obey on such occasions, yet
it would be a great sin to disobey. Obey them in matters
indifferent, as to wear this or that dress, to go one way or
another, to sing or to be silent, and this will be a very
commendable obedience. Obey them in things hard,
troublesome, or disagreeable, and this will be a perfect
ON OBEDIENCE.
3*7
obedience. Obey, in fine, meekly, without reply ; readily,
without delay; cheerfully, without repining; and, above
all, lovingly, for the love of Him who, through His love
for us, made Himself obedient unto death, even to the
death of the cross, and who, as St. Bernard says, rather
chose to part with His life than His obedience.
We call that obedience voluntary, to which we oblige
ourselves by our own choice, and which is not imposed
upon us by another. We do not commonly choose our
prince, our bishop, our father or mother, nor do even wives,
many times, choose their husbands, but we choose our
confessor and director ; if then, in choosing, we make a
vow to obey, as the holy St. Teresa did, who, besides her
obedience solemnly vowed to the superior of her order,
bound herself by a simple vow to obey Father Gratian.
We must obey every one of our superiors, according to
the charge he has over us. In political matters, we must
obey our queen ; in ecclesiastical matters, our prelates ; in
our domestic circle, father, master, or husband ; and in
what regards the private conduct of the soul, our ghostly
father or director.
St. Francis de Sales.
Devout Life.
What would become of the world without obedience?
What more necessary than this virtue to maintain order
and discipline? Experience has proved this. Where
obedience is not observed, there can be nothing but
trouble; disorder glides in, and peace is banished.
A dis-united whole is threatened with destruction, and
ruin is unavoidable. But, on the contrary, where obedi-
ence is kept, all will be edified. In noticing this perfect
unanimity one would see that these contented minds are
perfectly united. If there can be anything lasting on the
earth, it is when it is united, and when everything is in
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perfect order, and this can never be the case where obedi-
ence is not strictly observed.
The Apostle St. Peter, in recommending obedience, takes
every precaution. Had there been any way of dispensing
with obedience, it would no doubt be feasible with those
who abuse their authority. Is this a legitimate excuse
for non-obedience ? Can we throw off the yoke and abso-
lutely refuse to obey ? If you did, you are condemned by
St. Peter, for he says {chap. iii. 18), "Be subject to your
masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but
to the froward." How mad is the world ! the foundation
of their joy is, that they are free from all control, and are
masters of their conduct. How many there are to whom
every kind of restraint is insupportable, and who ever sigh
to be free ! They are like so many prodigal sons, who
cannot endure their father's government ; they are enemies
of their own happiness ; they wish to be their own masters,
and soon find that they have been wofully deceived.
Unhappy is that man who, following his own perverse
will, wishes to be his own master. When God is angry
with men, and wills to punish them, one of His severest
chastisements is to leave them to themselves, and let them
go according to their hearts, u So I let them go according
to the desires of their heart : they shall walk in their own
inventions,, {Ps. lxxx. 13).
How has God punished infidel nations when, following
blindly the inordinate desires of bestial passion, they ex-
cited His wrath by committing the most abominable crimes?
" Wherefore, God gave them up to the desires of their heart,
He delivered them up to shameful affections" {Rom. i.)
But he who willingly obeys, need not fear to be punished
in this way. A's he is resolved not to follow his own will,
he need not expect that God would punish him, or leave
him to the desires of his heart.
What, then, can be more advantageous than to obey,
ON OBEDIENCE.
389
since obedience is a sure protection from that rigorous
punishment which is so frightful, and which is so much
to be dreaded ?
Taking into consideration the good results of obedience,
we can only help saying, that it is by far more beneficial
to obey than to command. There is nothing, in fact, more
to be dreaded than the being raised to a high post of
authority. Wise men have shrunk from its heavy weight *
of responsibility. And wherefore? because they know
how dangerous it is to command.
To seek for power, and to strive for a high post, is to wish
to be your own enemy. Have we not enough to answer for
ourselves without the responsibility of having to answer
for others ? Do you doubt that all those who command,
are responsible to Almighty God for those under their
authority ?
See how St. James in his epistle (iii. 1) warns his brothers ;
does he not say, " Be ye not many masters, my brethren,
knowing that you receive the greater judgment ?"
Those who are under the yoke of obedience are safer
than others, and consequently happier.
Obedience is better than sacrifice : it is both right and
reasonable that it should be preferred, for in sacrifices, we
immolate another's flesh, but in obedience, we sacrifice
our own will. Consequently the number of our sacrifices
is in proportion to the number of our acts of obedience,
because in bending to the authority of a man for the love
of God, we overcome the pride, which is so natural to us.
Lambert.
Discourses on Ecclesiastical Life.
St. Gregory.
On Fourth Book of Kings.
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HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
116.— ©n £>rDer anU Eeguiaritg*
Le Pere Haineuve and St. Augustine.
Let all things be done decently, and according to order."
—i Corinthians xiv. 40.
If we knew how to spend our time in observing the ordet
and regularity which is prescribed for all the actions of our
life, how rich we should be in a short time ! What a mass
of merits should we not accumulate ! What a crown of
glory should we not obtain! In a word, what treasures
for heaven !
Not one of our actions would be void of virtue ; there
would be neither word nor thought, but which would de-
serve a reward, not a moment that would not be of value
for all eternity ; there would not be a sigh from the heart,
but which would be received by God as an act of love.
Ah ! how precious would be such a life passed thus holily !
Every moment would be worth a year, and every day
would be worth an age. It is a short but certain way of
acquiring the merit of the most honourable age, since, as
the wise man says, it is not the number of years, but the
number of good deeds, which do honour to that respectable
old age, and that a man who knows how to regulate his
time properly, finds that he has done more in a few days,
than he who has lived a whole life of irregularity and
disorder.
Alas ! Christians, what a waste of time ! What a num-
ber of days ought to be blotted out from our lives ! What
a number of years are counted as nothing !
ON ORDER AND REGULARITY.
391
To one who is to-day sixty or eighty years of age, is
still only a child, if his merits are reckoned by his years ;
to one who is a child, aged one hundred years (who, full
of wrinkles and infirmities, must render an account of his
life to that just Judge, who looks only at his actions),
will then see, that although he has dwelt a long time on
earth, yet he has lived but a short time.
If a profane historian had written the history of Saul, he
would have argued that this prince must have reigned forty
years over Judea, because the sun had run its course as
many times ; but Holy Scripture, which does not heed the
calculations of astronomers, but rather measures the years
by merits than by months, says, that he reigned only two
years; because, during that time he had lived a holy life,
following strictly the commandments of God.
I do not fear to assert, that the best way of knowing
the interior of a person, is to see and watch her exterior
behaviour, that is to say, how she regulates her time, her
actions, her employments, and all that appears outwardly.
It is only fair to presume that a Christian so orderly in her
exterior actions, has a still greater care for all that is more
essential and important, which would be to keep her con-
science in order, to regulate her desires, her affections, and
all the emotions of her soul.
This presumption is also so well founded, that as one
cannot better judge of a cause than from its effect, so in like
manner one cannot have a surer sign, that that man is
really virtuous who, in all his actions, is orderly and regular,
and does everything with the intention of pleasing God.
In reference to this, you will find that the Holy Scrip-
tures (and this has been noticed by some commentators)
have recommended, that we should watch twenty-four
times, and this is to teach us, that we must not allow any
hour of a day to pass without taking pains to do what we
ought to do, and that, too, in the very best way.
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This is not meant that we should abridge the necessary-
hours for sleep ; but it is, as St. Paul says, whether we
sleep or whether we are awake, we should do all things
regularly, in order that all may lead to our sanctification,
and thus refer all that we do to the honour and glory of
the Sovereign Master, whom we should always honour
and obey.
This is the surest proof that we are serving God faith-
fully and truly.
And what a consolation it will be, at the hour of death,
to be able to feel that we have endeavoured to perform all
for the love of God, and that, if through frailty, we have
not been able to do all things well, we have at least tried
to be just and holy.
If a single well-employed day is worthy of a reward,
what a weight of glory will be in store for us, if our life
has been one continued round of order and regularity.
Le Pere Haineuve.
De Vordre : Discours, x.
It is God who regulates everything ; and of all that He
has done, there is nothing that can be found to be out of
order ; we are often ignorant of the reason why He has
done one thing, in preference to another.
There is a rule and order which is necessary in this life,
a regularity which leads us to God, if we keep it faithfully ;
if we fail in this, we swerve from the path which conducts
us to His heavenly kingdom ; for all is beautiful where
there is order, and the Apostle says, all order is from God.
St. Augustine.
De Orditu.
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ON PEN AN C AS A VIRTUE.
393
117.— 4Dn penance a* a Utrtue*
BOURDALOUE.
" I chastise my body and bring it into subjection : lest, perhaps, when I have
preached to others, I myself should become a castaway." — i Corinthians ix. 27.
It is an excellent axiom, on which we do not sufficiently
reflect, and which nevertheless ought to be the chief
subject of our gratitude to God, that the same things
which have perverted us are (if we wish) those which
should sanctify us, and that, by a wonderful effect of
grace and love, we, without going out of our way, find
a remedy for our ills in the very instruments which have
contributed to bring them on.
It is this idea that St. Paul conceived, when, reasoning
on this principle, he explains to the Romans what is the
essence of Christian penance, saying : " Neither yield ye
your members as instruments of iniquity unto sin; but
present yourself to God as those that are alive from the
dead, and your members as instruments of justice unto
God" (Rom. vi. 13).
As you have yielded your members to commit sins of
iniquity, you must make use of them as instruments of
justice in order to lead a holy life; for it is by doing so,
that your conversion will appear to be sincere. If what was
in you as an instrument of sin becomes a means of penance,
if what you have defiled when you were a slave to the
world, you consecrate it to the service of Almighty Goci,
394
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
and make of your members a victim and holocaust worthy
of His justice.
This is the way by which you can discern the difference
between true and false penance.
As it is effeminacy and sensuality which have withdrawn
you from God, you must, if you wish to make friends with
Him, counteract these by a severe penance. And to effect
this, your penance must be persevering as well as severe.
Why ? Because God leaves it to yourselves ; your penance
must therefore annihilate your self-love, and that can
only be done by the zeal of a holy and rigorous punish-
ment. If it were a question of condemning others, and of
judging of their shortcomings, what a severe penance
would you award them ; and when it applies to your own
bodies, of which you are so fond, and for which you have
nought but delicate tenderness, what severity ought you
not to exercise; and if you do not do so, what injustice
will you not commit ?
Have we not very often fancied that faults, which
appear to us so small when we ourselves commit them,
are magnified in our own eyes when committed by others,
and that which we took for an atom, becomes a monstrous
sin in our neighbour? What is the cause of this? Why,
nothing but self-love. Oh ! how should we fight against
this ? Only by severe penance.
We even love our vices, we make a virtue of them, and
what is insupportable in others, is sweet and agreeable
to ourselves. However, penance must destroy all this.
However selfish we may be, we must not be corrupt
judges; and in order not to be so, we must judge our-
selves and punish ourselves severely.
It is a delusion, at all times fostered and encouraged
by an effeminate world, to imagine that penance should
be a virtue solely interior, and that it should reign only
over the spiritual powers of the soul ; that the heart should
ON PENANCE AS A VIRTUE.
395
be simply changed, that a careful watch should be kept
over our passions, and that all these could be solidly prac-
tised without our flesh feeling the effects, or without in-
flicting pain on that exterior and worldly man, which
forms part of ourselves.
If that were the case, says St. Chrysostom, we must
curtail entire chapters of Holy Scripture, in which the
Holy Ghost upsets carnal prudence by testimonies, as
contrary to our self-love, as truth is opposed to error.
It might also be said that St. Paul did not take that
worldly view, or that he thought lightly of Christian
penance, when he taught that we should make living
hostages of our bodies — Exhibeatis corpora vestra hostiam
viventem — when he wished that this virtue should extend
to the chastising of the flesh, when he commanded the
faithful, or rather when he made a law for them, to bear
really on their bodies the mortification of Jesus Christ;
and finally, to give them an example, he himself chastised
his body, and bringing it under subjection, fearing, added
he, lest perhaps when he preached penance to others, and
not practising it, he himself should become a castaway.
" But I chastise my body and bring it under subjection ;
lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself
should become a castaway " (i Corinthians ix. 27).
• ••••••
Sin must be punished either in the present world or in
the world to come, either by the justice of God or by the
penitence of man, let us not therefore wait till God Him-
self shall inflict due punishment. Let us take care to
prevent the rigour of His justice by the rigour of our
penance. Inflamed with zeal, let us side with the Al-
mighty against ourselves, and avenge His cause at our
own expense.
BOURDALOUE.
Sermon on St. Magdalen.
396
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118.— flDn Pewfetoerance*
Peres Antoine de la Porte, Croizet, and
St. Philip Neri.
" He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.'
— Matthew x. 22.
THERE are two grand motives for perseverance.
The first is, that we cannot begin too soon to serve God,
and as that beginning is never too late; we ought never to
relax in our duty to Him, so long as we live.
We ought, indeed, to love God, from the first moment
of our coming to the use of reason ; we ought to love Him
as soon as we have known Him, and this is perhaps the
reason that the best part of our life slips by, without be-
ginning to do good, and without engaging to serve Him,
and this, too, after the Sacrament of Baptism, which is, as
you know, a solemn promise to serve and love Him, our
Divine Master,
We, by rights, ought never to have relaxed, but ought
to have kept faithfully to the promise made in the sight
of heaven and earth ; but by a desertion as shameful as it
is criminal, we soon find that we have been more guilty
than reasonable, from the very first moment of our exist-
ence. Is it not just, then, to make up for lost time, or at
least to make reparation for time so uselessly employed,
that we should consecrate the rest of our lives, in paying
off a debt which is owing to Him, our Creator?
We ought, at least, to enter into the feelings of the
great St. Augustine, who exclaims, "Too late have I
known Thee, O ancient Truth, too late have I loved Thee,
ON PERSEVERANCE.
397
O ancient Beauty ! " Ah ! had I waited for a year, a
month, a week, or a day, would it not have been too late
for me to begin ?
What can I then now do, but to devote the remainder
of my life to Thy Service? You have loved me, dear
Lord, from all eternity; you will love me for all eternity,
if I am fortunate enough to deserve the eternal happiness
which Thou hast destined for me ; at least if that short in-
terval which hangs between these two eternities, be per-
severingly, and constantly employed, in loving and serving
The other motive is, that we should never be weary of
serving God, or quit His holy service too soon. For,
tell me, what has moved that soul when, with Christian
generosity, it has resolved to leave off sinning, and has
determined to be virtuous and good ? It is either the fear
of God's judgments, or the wish to be saved, or perhaps a
higher motive has been excited, and conversion has lasted
for some time.
But this desirable change ceases, tears are dried up, and
the course of penitential prayers are stopped.
The goodness, justice, and mercy of God had brought
forth our holy resolutions. Have these been the cause of
this change ? No ! God is now just as loving, just as mer-
ciful as He ever was. He has not ceased to be mindful
of you ; why, then, did you not remain longer in His ser-
vice ?
If, then, the fervent zeal which we should always feel in
the service of His Divine Majesty should cease for a day,
or even a moment, it would be too late, because there is
not a single day or hour which should not be devoted to
the adoration and service of Almighty God. We should
not, therefore, place any limit to our perseverance; for the
very moment we cease to be zealous and good, all our
Thee.
398 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
past services are reckoned as nothing, and we lose the
merit of them.
Le Pere Antoine de St. Martin de la Porte.
From his book on Grace.
Having considered the motives that ought to induce us
to persevere, let us see the sad effects that would inevit-
ably result from the want of perseverance.
Consider well, that as perseverance in the life of grace
is purely a gift of God, so the want of perseverance is
simply our own fault. That life of grace which penance
renews in us is of its nature as immortal, and as incor-
ruptible as is our soul. If, therefore, against the design of
God, we lose this grace, it is to ourselves, and not to grace,
that we can attribute this loss, and in that consists our
irregularity.
Instructed, as we have been, of the necessity of final
perseverance, why should we not always try to merit it?
Ought we not daily resolve to obtain this precious treasure?
Final perseverance, ought it not to be the constant ob-
ject of our desires, the aim of all our endeavours, and the
motive, so to speak, of all our prayers ? Let us store up
all our merits ; let us multiply our graces ; for if we have
the misfortune of not persevering to the end, if we have
the unhappiness of dying in mortal sin, notwithstanding
our former innocence and fervour of penance, if we have
the misfortune of losing that grace at that moment pre-
ceding the last, all these treasures will be lost for all eter-
nity ; God, in this case, does not reckon up our past good
deeds. We are justly condemned. Oh ! how blind, how
mad must we be not to ask of Almighty God for the gift
of perseverance, and for the means of obtaining this grace!
It is in reality this gift which gives such a value to our
good works. Without perseverance, the most perfect inno-
ON PERSEVERANCE.
399
cence, the most heroic virtue, the most austere penance, go
for nothing.
Saul had been chosen by God by a singular favour ;
Solomon had been the admiration of the world for his
piety and wisdom; Judas was one of our Saviour's apostles,
and had even worked miracles ; Origen was once ready to
shed his blood for Christ's sake ; Tertullian had been one
of the Fathers of the Church for a long time; all these men
had begun well, all these glorious lights had illuminated
the Church for several years; they had, even for some
time, persevered in innocence, fervour, and in all the duties
of a Christian life. They reflected honour on religion so
long as they persevered in grace. But having at last been
seduced from the exact regularity of their duties, having
allowed themselves to be led captive by their bad passions,
having too easily followed the bad example of others —
what has been their sad end, and what is their eternal
destiny ?
The greatest help to perseverance in the spiritual life is
the habit of prayer, especially under the direction of our
confessor.
Men should often renew their good resolutions, and not
lose heart because they are tempted against them.
Le Pere Croiset, S.J.
Exercises of Piety.
St. Philip Neri.
400
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119.— Dn pietp anti £)etootion*
Pere Croizet and St. Bernard.
"God is a Spirit, and they that adore Him must adore Him in spirit and in
truth."— John iv. 24.
As soon as one takes the firm resolution of serving God,
or, what is the same thing, as soon as one begins to prac-
tise devotion, that one is mild, tractable, humble, upright,
obliging, and tries to fulfil every obligation of his state
There can be no stability in friendship, no good faith in
business, no candour in courtesy, if it be not well-grounded
in goodness and piety. Piety gives us common sense;
candour, earnestness and uprightness.
True devotion consists in fulfilling the minutest duties
of that state of life to which God has called us. There
are so many obligations in business, society, and divers
employments of life ! Nothing more praiseworthy than
trying to do everything in a satisfactory manner, and what
more satisfactory than the constant practice of devotion ?
Take a survey of the various states of life.
Who is a good father, a good judge, a kind relation, a
sincere friend, a loyal subject ? What woman more domes-
ticated, what servant more industrious, what workman more
hard-working, what priest more exemplary and watchful,
than he who is a religious observer of God's command-
ments ?
All these virtues are the fruit of Christian piety and
devotion.
of life.
ON PIETY AND DEVOTION.
401
Neither God nor the Gospel disapproves of the duties of
politeness nor the amenities of life. God regulates them.
He does not command Christians to live solitary lives in
a desert, but He expects them to conduct themselves as
good Christians. Thus, far from making people savage
and morose, nothing is more likely to civilise and polish
them than piety and devotion. We see examples of this
daily.
If a man be debauched and sensual, he is irritable, un-
bearable, peevish, rough, passionate, and vindictive, in fact
only fit to try the patience of others. Let a woman be
without piety, she is vain, capricious, cruel, and hard to her
children and servants, and a heavy cross to her husband.
But when such as these put on the armour of piety and
devotion, they become reasonable, courteous, gracious to
all, diligent in work, respectable in society, and worthy of
the esteem and veneration of the world.
How sad it is, O Lord, to hear of devout people, that is
to say, those who live according to the precepts of the
Gospel, how sad to hear that they are peevish, uncivil,
troublesome, and that they think that they are good for
nothing! What! cannot one be good for something in
this world, without giving up devotion ?
True piety and devotion does not prevent our mixing in
society, neither do they forbid amusements, provided they
be innocent.
More than that, does the Gospel forbid us from keeping
a careful watch over our Own property, or even to work
hard, so as to increase, it by lawful means? Does the
Church condemn the care of providing for your family, of
taking an interest in the temporal welfare of your children,
of cultivating your own land, or of keeping up your dignity
and honour? Does it forbid you to perform the ordinary
usages of polite society ? Does it even consider harmless
recreation a crime, or an attire suitable for your rank or
2 c
402 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
station ? Certainly not ! it only condemns excess, covet-
ousness, or a too great eagerness.
Would you wish to know if you are really devout?
Then take heed of what you love, what you fear, where-
fore you rejoice, or why you sorrow. Love God alone, or
if you love, love the object, for His sake. Fear only to
displease God, or if you have any dread of anything,
refer all to Him. Rejoice only in God, or if you rejoice in
any other object, look upon it only as an attraction which
draws you closer to Him. Let the loss of God be your
only sorrow, whether your sorrow is occasioned by past
sins or by those of your brethren ; or if any other loss
worries you, look upon it as a proof that He intends to
chasten you, in order to make you more united to Him.
The grace of true devotion is an unction, which instructs
us in all our duties ; he alone knows it who has proved it
by experience, and he who is wilfully ignorant of this
cannot possibly know it, because no one can feel it but he
who has received it as a precious gift from heaven.
Devotion is the grace that influences the heart, and that
alone. After one has tasted the joys of the Spirit, those of
the world and the -flesh seem to be distasteful. He who
yearns for the blessings of heaven cannot relish earthly
pleasures, and he who sighs after eternal things, will only
feel a contempt for fleeting things.
It is well to choose some one good devotion, and to stick
to it, and never to abandon it.
PfeRE CROISET, S.J.
Reflections Chritiennes.
St. Bernard.
De Verbis ApostoL
St. Philip Neri.
ON POVERTY AND THE POOR IN SPIRIT.
403
120.— Dn jpotoertg an& tfie Poor to ©pint
'* Blessed are the poor in spirit ; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
— Matthew v. 3.
It is the grandest miracle of grace to see a man poor, in
the midst of riches. We could not understand this miracle
if we did not know that Holy Scripture does not condemn
riches, or the rich, but only those who love riches, and those
who wish to possess wealth.
The Apostle teaches us this truth, when he says, that it
is not the rich, but only those who yearn to become rich,
who fall into the snares of the devil.
St. Hilary well explains this by saying, that it is not a
sin to possess property, but it is a sin if it be not used in
moderation. Thus, when the Gospel curses the rich, and
closes the gates of heaven upon them, it does not curse
those who possess riches, but those who wish to be rich,
and those who are eager to amass wealth.
This is the meaning of the Apostle's words, and it is in-
disputable, that the love of those blessings we call riches is
bad ; it follows, then, that the poverty which the Gospel
commends, is not the absence of riches, but the wish to
acquire riches, or the desire to love them, when possessed.
The wise man depicts admirably this effect of grace by
these words : " One is as it were rich, when he hath nothing ;
and another is, as it were poor, when he hath great riches "
(Prov. xiii. 7). How can we understand, and could we
possibly have any idea of a rich man having nothing, or of
Fathers Sarrazin, Faber, and St. Bernard.
404
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
a poor man being rich, if we did not know that, by the grace
of Jesus Christ, the poor man lives as if he was rich, and
the rich man lives as if he was poor.
Behold, then, the miracle of the Gospel and its grace ;
that the rich may be as poor, as was our Saviour in His
riches, since He was the Master of the universe, but was
clothed in poverty.
A Christian should die poor, either in reality or in spirit,
because poverty can only enter into heaven, and if the
rich enter therein, it must be through the gate of poverty.
Thus, the greatest misfortune is to die rich, that is to say,
with a love and an attachment to riches. This is neces-
sary to repeat often to the rich, in order that they may
not deceive themselves or be deceived ; and they must be
warned, that poverty is the sole inheritance to gain heaven,
and that the rich can only be saved through poverty.
This truth ought to make the rich and the powerful
tremble and fear ; not because they can open the gates of
heaven by making themselves poor, but on account of the
difficulty there is of being poor in spirit in the midst of
riches, of cheerfully resigning something, from the super-
fluity of wealth, of loving poverty, when they are rich.
This miracle is not impossible to grace; but it will never
be accomplished, except through a contempt for riches,
looking upon its acquisition in its true light, valuing it as
it should be, that is, its being of little or no good.
Father Sarrazin.
Advent Sermon.
• • • • • • •
Poverty has been called by some, the sister of Christ, by
others, His bride. It would seem as if the circumstances of
His infancy had been providentially contrived with a view
to bringing us as many of the incidents of poverty as were
possible, without seeming to be unnatural. From Nazareth
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ON POVERTY AND THE POOR IN SPIRIT. 405
to Bethlehem, from Bethlehem over the wilderness to
Egypt, from Egypt to Nazareth again, and from Nazareth
to Jerusalem for the three days He begged His bread ;
the biography of His childhood spreads itself like an ample
net, to entangle in its folds more and more of the varieties
and pressures of His beloved poverty.
If He was born of a royal maiden, it was of one who
was poor and reduced in circumstances. He would not be
born at home, but took the occasion of the Roman census,
to be as it were a child of exile, and a waif upon His own
earth.
He would be rejected from the doors of Bethlehem, as the
least worthy of all the mixed multitude that had crowded
thither. He would be born in a cave, a stable, amidst the
domestic animals of man's husbandry.
When age grew on Joseph and his infirmities multiplied,
the yoke of poverty became yet more galling to the
shoulders of his tender Foster-son.
The poverty that pressed on Mary, pressed tenfold more
heavily on Him, from the very fact of its having first
pressed on her.
Never was there a childhood of hardier poverty than our
Blessed Lord's. It was His inseparable companion, and if
He loved its austerities with so singular a love, it was only
because they were so singular a cross.
Poverty in itself is not a virtue ; but the love of poverty
is so. Jesus Christ has said, " Blessed are the poor in
spirit," not those who possess nothing.
Father Faber (Orat.)
Bethlehem.
St. Bernard.
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121.— Dn jprager*
SS. Francis de Sales, Augustine,
Philip Neri, and Fenelon.
" Let us go with confidence to the throne of grace : that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace in seasonable aid."— Hebrews iv. x6.
PRAYER places our understanding in the brightness and
light of God, and exposes our will to the heat of heavenly
love. There is nothing that so effectually purges our
understanding from its ignorance, or our will from its de-
praved affections, as prayer. It is the water of benediction,
which makes the plants of our good desires grow green
and flourish. It washes our souls from their imperfections,
and quenches the thirst of passion in our hearts.
But, above all, I recommend to you mental and cordial
prayer, and particularly that which has the life and passion
of our Lord for its object. By making Him the subject of
your meditation, your whole soul will be replenished with
Him ; you shall learn His carriage, and frame all your
actions to the model of His.
As He is the light of the world, it is then in Him, by
Him, and for Him, that we ought to acquire lustre and be
enlightened. He is the tree of desire, under whose shadow
we ought to refresh ourselves. He is the living fountain
of Jacob, in which we may wash away all our stains. In
fine, as little children, by hearing their mothers talk, lisp
at first and learn at length to speak their language, so we,
by keeping close to our Saviour by meditation, and ob-
serving His words, actions, and affections, shall, by the
ON PRAYER.
407
help of His grace, learn to speak, to act, and to will like
Him.
Here we must stop, as we cannot find access to God the
Father but through this gate; for as the looking-glass
could never terminate our sight, if its back were not tinned
or leaded, so we could never contemplate the Divinity in
this world had we not been united to the sacred humanity
of our Saviour, whose life and death is the most fit, de-
lightful, sweet, and profitable object we can choose for our
ordinary meditation.
It is not without reason that our Saviour called Himself
the bread that came down from heaven ; for as bread ought
to be eaten with all sorts of meat, so our Saviour ought to
be the subject of our meditation, consideration and imita-
tion in all our prayers and actions.
God listens, says St Cyprian, to the voice of the heart,
in preference to the voice of the mouth ; we must, adds he,
watch and give up our mind to prayer; we must drive
away all worldly and profane thoughts from our heart, in
order that our mind and soul may be engrossed with our
petitions.
To whom, continues the Saint, should we speak atten-
tively, if not to God. Can He ask for less, than that you
should think of what you are saying? How dare you
expect that He will deign to hear you, if you think only
of yourselves. You fancy that God will hear you when
you pray ; you who are so wilfully distracted in prayer.
Far from pleasing Him, you offend His divine Majesty by
your negligence, in an action which is the only way of
gaining favours from heaven.
We must ask in faith, nothing wavering, says St. James,
and this faith ought to be so firm that we should never
St. Francis de Sales.
Devout Life.
408
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
hesitate, for he who hesitates or wavers is like unto the
waves of the sea, ever moved and carried about by the
wind. He who, then, continues he, prays without tfcis
confidence, must not expect to be heard. And what more
capable of moving the heart of our Lord in our regard,
than a firm confidence in His mercy ? Can He refuse
those who have placed all their treasure in Him, those
who have trusted in His goodness ?
When we pray with confidence, says St. Cyprian, it is
God Himself who implants in our hearts that spirit of
prayer. The Eternal Father must, then, acknowledge the
words of His only-begotten Son when we pronounce them,
and He who dwells in the bottom of our hearts will regu-
late and fashion all our prayers.
We must not, says St. Bernard, mingle in our prayers
foolish things with the true, temporal with the eternal, low
interests with those of our salvation.
To pray well, says St. Augustine, you must seek God
alone; to ask, through Him, for other blessings, is praying
badly. Do not seek to make God the protector of your
self-love, or of your ambition, but the executor of your
good desires. You have recourse to God, to curb your
passions, and often He sends you crosses, of which He
knows you stand in need. When He loves you, continues
the holy Doctor, He refuses what your self-love asks for,
and in His anger, He gives you that which is dangerous
for you to obtain. Do not carry to the sanctuary of the
altar indiscreet vows, ill-regulated desires, and slovenly
prayers. Ask for nothing but what is worthy of Him to
whom you pray. Keep strictly from sighing after vain
and hurtful benefits ; ask for the dew from heaven, and
not for the fat of the land. Open your heart before the
Lord, in order that His Holy Spirit may dwell in you, and
ask, through sighs and moans, for the true blessings which
He wishes that you should ask for.
ON PRAYER.
409
Let us pray, my brethren, but let us ever pray, keeping
a watchful eye over our various duties. Do not let us offer
up exalted or abstract prayers, or those which have no
reference to the practice of every virtue. Let us pray, not
to become more enlightened, and more spiritual in words ;
but to become more humble, more docile, more patient,
more modest, more charitable, more pure and more unsel-
fish in every detail of our conduct. Without that, our
assiduity in prayer, far from being efficacious and fruitful,
will be a delusion and a scandal for our neighbour.
Full of delusion! how many examples have we not had?
How many have we seen, whose prayers tend to swell their
pride, and lead their thoughts astray. Of scandal to our
neighbour ; for is there anything more scandalous than to
see a person who prays without first correcting himself ;
who, at the end of his devotions, is not less frivolous, less
vain, less restless, less passionate, less selfish than before ?
When you ask for temporal favours, however trifling
they may appear, ask with fear. Pray that God may
grant or reject them, as He thinks fit. The doctor, and
not the patient, is best able to judge what is best.
A man without prayer is an animal without the use of
Fenelon.
Select Sermons.
St. Augustine. -
De Verb : Domini.
reason.
St. Philip Neri.
4io
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122.— Dn !PreHe0tmattom
Peres Houdry and Croiset.
" And whom he predestinated, them he also called ; and whom he called, them
he also justified ; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." — Romans viii. 33.
Predestination, properly speaking, is that particular
arrangement and conduct, which God makes use of, to
guide gently and freely to their end, those whom He has
chosen, from all eternity to enjoy everlasting happiness.
Or, as St. Thomas expresses it in fewer words, it is an
arrangement prepared in the mind of God, respecting the
leading of the reasonable creature to eternal life. This is
tantamount to the definition given by St. Augustine:
Prcescientia et preparatio beneficiorum Dei, quibus certissime
liberantur quicumque liberantur ; it is the foreknowledge
and the preparation of the blessings and favours of God,
which do not fail to lead the elect to everlasting happiness.
It follows, from this definition that predestination is a
part of the Providence of God, and that the office of pre-
destination, as also that of Providence, is to direct the
means to the end, or even to choose and prepare the
means proper for the end.
But, as it is certain, according to the articles of faith, that
man has been created to obtain supernatural beatitude,
he must have the means proportionate as well as super-
natural ; and as these means are in God, who has the will
to give them, it follows that there is in God a predestina-
tion. It follows, in the second place, that the predes-
tination in God is an act of His judgment, by which He
ON PREDESTINATION.
411
foresees the force of the infallible means which lead to the
end to which He destined the elect: Prcescientia et pre-
{>aratio.
It is, moreover, an act of His will by which He resolves
to give to each such and such of those infallible means.
As predestination is an act of the Divine understanding,
it must necessarily follow, that it should be an act of
prudence and infinite wisdom, which we should prefer
above every human consideration.
Besides, as predestination may be said to be a selection
which is an act of the will, we must conclude from thence,
that it is infinitely just, and that it is accompanied by a
Divine Holiness, and a very ardent love for the creature.
Finally, it follows that predestination is eternal, since it
is an act of the judgment and will of God, which cannot
change, and consequently is from all eternity; so that
what is done at the time, happens only because God has
determined it before time was ; thus the grace is given in
time, but the preparation was made from ail eternity.
We must, moreover, conclude from this definition, ac-
knowledged by all the Doctors of the Church, that pre-
destination is certain and infallible; which certainly pro-
ceeds from the strength of Divine knowledge which cannot
be deceived, and which extends to every free event which
ought to happen, and not by the strength of the assistance
which it gives us ; for of themselves they are not infallible,
since they can be prevented by man's free will, so that he
could not concur in it. If this infallibility proceeded from
the means, assistance, and graces, the creature would not
co-operate freely, but necessarily, and consequently, pre-
destination being certain and infallible, would have de-
prived us of our free will.
Rev. Pere V. Houdry, S.J.
" Many are called, but few are chosen." Even had faith
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not taught us this awful truth, taking into consideration
certain maxims of Holy Scripture in which all Christians
agree, reason alone would suffice to convince us that the
number of the elect must be small.
Instructed in the truths of our holy religion, knowing
the duties of a Christian, convinced of our natural inclina-
tion to evil, seeing the licentiousness of the present age,
can one come to the conclusion that there will be very
many saved ?
To be saved, we must necessarily live according to the
maxims of the Gospel ; and the number of those who
now-a-days, do so live, can the number be called great ?
To be saved, we must openly declare that we are dis-
ciples of our Saviour. Alas! how many are there now
who would be ashamed to own it. We must renounce all
we possess, if not in reality, at least in desire; we must
carry our cross daily. What unchangeable purity ! what
delicacy of conscience ! what humility ! what honesty !
what charity ! With such outward signs as these, would
you recognise many disciples of Jesus Christ ? They are,
however, the surest signs we can have of our predes-
tination.
The world is the implacable enemy of Jesus our Saviour.
It is not possible to serve two masters. Judge for yourself
which of the two, the greater part obey and follow, and by
that, you will be able to know how few, how very few, will
be of the number of the elect.
Le Pbre Croiset.
• ••••• •
The fear of God is a sign of predestination.
St. Augustine.
Digitized by
ON PRUDENCE.
413
123.— flDn JjpruHence*
St. Basil and P£re Giroust.
14 The knowledge of the holy, is prudence."
— Proverbs ix. xa
On referring to Holy Scripture you will find many exam-
ples of the folly of those who trusted in worldly and
political prudence.
Pharaoh had cleverly contrived to destroy the people of
Israel, but he had not foreseen the obstacle which upset
all his plans. An exposed child he intended to put to
death was secretly nourished, and brought up in his own
palace, and this same child destroyed all the power of the
Egyptians and saved Israel.
Abimelech caused seventy of his brethren to be slain,
in order to ascend the throne ; but he himself could not
avoid meeting with a violent death, for he was killed by
a portion of a millstone thrown by a woman.
. The Jews conspired against our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ ; and after long consultations, they said to them-
selves : " What do we, for this man doth many miracles ?
If we let Him alone so, all will believe in Him, and the
Romans will come and take away our place and nation 99
{John xi. 48). It was by reasoning thus, they resolved
to put Jesus to death, in order to save their place and
nation; but this counsel, fatal as it was, ended in their entire
destruction ; they have fallen into a miserable slavery, for
they have neither law, nor religion, nor ceremonial.
St. Basil.
Extract from his Sermons.
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As Christians, what better rules can we take for deciding
prudently, than the eternal truths ? Those precepts and
maxims we ought to follow, in order that we may not
swerve from the duty of considering the end for which we
were created, and which should be continually before our
eyes.
Oh ! if we had always acted on this principle, if we had
followed no other guide, if we had had them ever before
our eyes, if we had weighed in this balance all our resolu-
tions and designs (which we can now only trace to our-
selves), our conclusions and decisions would have been
correct and right. We should not have been subject to so
many false proceedings, to so many falls, and we should
not have been cast among so many rocks. God would
have diffused His light to illumjnate our path ; He would
have united His will to ours ; faith would have given us a
true esteem of things ; He would have made us find out
the true worth of His Word ; He would have inspired
us with a wisdom all divine, often even requisite in the
management and administration of worldly business.
But what do we do? whom do we consult? We con-
sult, alas ! neither our Lord, nor His Gospel, nor our faith.
It is a false and carnal prudence, a blind reasoning, which
thinks that it can see everything, and can see nothing. We
judge for ourselves ; we wish to believe only in self, and on
certain occasions, everything appears to favour our plans,
and, full of confident success, we begin, we decide, and
trust to chance.
Whom do we consult ? It is the world — the world and
its ideas; unhappy source of many delusions, of many
specious delights, which lead us into error.
Whom do we consult ? It is passion ; it is an insatiable
avarice which devours us, and which biasses us ever in the
favour of self-aggrandisement; it is an inordinate ambi-
tion, which goads us onwards and drags us on to fortune;
ON PRUDENCE.
415
it is a bitter resentment which animates us, and ever leans
to the side of vengeance ; it is a guilty attachment which
binds us, and which makes us slaves to pleasure.. These
are our counsellors ; these are our masters.
I know, says the Lord, how I can frustrate all your false
and worldly plans; these will not only not succeed, but
will lead to your ruin. I will confound the prudence of
the age, and will leave them to their own guidance ; I will
let them walk in their darkness, and let them fall into
abysses, from which they cannot extricate themselves.
We see and experience this daily. We undertake im-
portant affairs in which self is concerned; God, on His
part, attaches thereto even a temporal punishment, for He
upsets and destroys them all.
A thousand times wiser and happier is that Christian
who examines everything as a Christian should do, who
has recourse to God, and stores up resolutions to do all that
God may be willing to dictate to him; taking care that all
the precepts and maxims of the Gospel may be the rule of
his life; applying these to everything; making a just dis-
cernment of what is allowed and what is forbidden ; of
what may be done and what to be avoided ; seeking for
advice from those learned in the law; making use of the
commandments of God as a sure way of finding out all
that His will may propose, and then by putting it into
practice.
For the beauty of our faith and religion is, to have rules
applicable to every state and condition of life in which we
may be found, and there is not a single occasion or junc-
ture which may not require us to act with a Christian
prudence.
Le Pere Giroust.
Advent Discourse.
4i6
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
124.— jflDn Jpuritg anH C&ajfftitg,
SS. AsTfeRE and Ambrose.
1 The value of all gold, is as nothing compared to a soul truly chaste."
— ECCLKSIASTICUS XXVI. 20-
[ASTERIUS or AsTifcRE. Of this Saint, but little is known, except for
the fact, that before he entered into the ecclesiastical state, he was a
distinguished orator at the' bar. He was raised to the See of Amasse'e,
and his episcopal duties were accompanied with the practice of every
virtue. He died at an advanced age, about the year 400. The
Homilies that have been preserved and handed down to us, as
written by him, are models of eloquence and piety.]
PURITY is a virtue which puts us on an equality with the
angels. The purity of angels is more blessed, ours more
generous. They have no temptations of the flesh to fight
against, as we have.
We cannot preserve our chastity, surrounded as we are
by so many enemies, without great exertion, and there are
but few who are victorious.
Virginity brings us nearer to God. It seeks for a model
in God Himself, says St. Ambrose, for the eternal Father
is virgin and Father. God, also wishing to become Incar-
nate, willed that He should be born of a virgin. God has
also an extraordinary love and tenderness for pure souls;
it is to these, in particular, that He confers or reveals His
secrets, or on whom He deigns to bestow His favours.
Jesus Christ bestowed many graces on Peter, on account
of his zeal ; but it was the virgin St. John who was per-
mitted to lean on the breast and heart of Jesus ; it was he
ON PURITY AND CHASTITY.
417
who had the privilege of entering His divine sanctuary,
and it was he from whom He hid none of His most im-
portant secrets.
Confessors, martyrs, and apostles have great privileges ;
but it appears that to virgins only, He has entrusted the
privilege of following the Lamb. They are His spouses,
and thus this illustrious quality, gives them right of entry
everywhere.
Virginity is that precious treasure, to guard which, so
many generous souls have sacrificed their lives. The pre-
servation of this treasure is difficult, but the loss of it is
irreparable ; one may recover grace when lost by sin, but
virginity once lost, can never be restored.
Nevertheless, nothing is more easy to lose, and we so
readily expose ourselves to lose this treasure, nay, it seems
to me that we seek to lose it, and we even make a merit
of losing that which ought to be a subject of the most
poignant grief.
The demon of impurity, wishing to gain a victory over a
person who is modest, and has the fear of God before her
eyes, uses nearly the same tactics as a skilful general
would use; for he, despairing of capturing a city by storm,
employs secret emissaries or spies. Thus, the devil makes
use of certain propensities which appear innocent enough,
or at least but little suspected of having any secret con-
nection with him. Making sure of the interest these evil
propensities excite, the devil will enter secretly into their
hearts, undermine and eventually make himself master of
the citadel.
These propensities (so nearly allied to passions) are
vanity, curiosity, and presumption; seemingly these three
have but little connection with impurity. But these are
the weapons which the devil makes use of in the world,
and they will soon conquer chastity.
The passion which does not appear to be allied to the
2D
4i8 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
sin of impurity, but which nevertheless enters deep into
the heart, is that curiosity which prompts the reading of
bad or dangerous books. Nothing more dreadful, nothing
more injurious to the purity of young persons than those
novels and books of gallantry, which, under the pretext of
elegance of diction or beauty of language, corrupt the
educated mind.
If such reading forms the mind, it spoils the soul ; if it
gives us a knowledge of the world, it destroys Christianity ;
and thus, by the loss of devotion, by the loss of the holy
fear of God, and purity of conscience, such reading leads
insensibly to the loss of chastity.
St. Aster e.
Homily,
• ••••••
Show me the man who is able to explain or understand
the value and excellence of purity, a virtue beyond all the
common laws of nature. It is on earth a perfect type,
and a lively picture of the virginal purity which reigns in
heaven.
It is that which has passed through air, clouds, and stars,
and which, soaring above the angels, has found the Divine
Word in the bosom of His Father, and has drawn Him to
earth, to be united to it in an inexpressible manner.
Now, after having been so fortunate as to find a pearl of
so great a price, on what plea can we allow it to be lost ?
Nevertheless, it is not I, but the Son of God Himself, who
assures us that the pure and chaste, will be like unto the
angels in heaven ; and at this, we need not be astonished
if such souls are placed in the rank of angels, souls who
have for their spouse, the King and Lord of angels.
St. Ambrose.
Digitized by
ON RELIGION AND THE RELIGIOUS STATE.
125.— Dn Beugion ana tfce EeWgiouu State,
M Walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing, being fruitful in every good work,
and increasing in the knowledge of God." — Colossians i. xo.
There is no one who ought to be vainglorious for having
bid adieu to the world ; he ought rather to return thanks
to Almighty God. St Athanasius said as much to his
disciples : Nemo qui reliquerit mundum, glorietur.
I would have here the right to use the same phrase.
Do not let us feel proud at what we have done for God
when we entered into the religious state, but let us praise
and bless Him a thousand times for having done so much
for us.
In consecrating ourselves to the Lord, we have parted
with blessings but they are benefits which, when possessed,
are a heavy burden : so says our Lord. For Holy Writ,
does it not mention that it is a sin to be attached to the
goods of this world, or to be grieved at their loss ?
We resign benefits which cannot be retained, without
being overwhelmed with their burthen ; blessings, which
cannot be loved, without our being soiled with avarice;
benefits, which we cannot lose or fear to lose, without
being anxious about their probable future loss. St. Ber-
nard expresses this in the following short sentence : Bona
qua possessa otierunt, amata inquina?it, amissa cruciant.
Thus it is a grace and a blessing, which God has inspired
us with the will to deny and conquer ourselves ; and when
BOURDALOUE, PERE DE LA COLOMBIERE,
and St. Bernard.
420
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
I ponder on all the truths which faith teaches, what con-
clusion can I come to, but that I am forced to be asto-
nished at the sight of that wondrous grace, which God has
bestowed upon me, when He called me to the religious life.
A state of life, which spares me so much trouble, which
protects me from so many dangers, which compels me to
offer unlimited thanks for that singular mercy of my Lord,
who has induced me to embrace a vocation, which is not
only the most perfect, the safest, but also the most easy
and the most favourable, to the work of my own sancti-
fication.
For, do not let ourselves be deceived ; it is more easy
to be deprived of worldly wealth, as we are, than to possess
riches, and not become attached to them. It is more easy
to give up the pleasures of the world, than to use them as
if we used them not — than to be in the midst of honours
and distinctions, and not be elated with them.
It is much more easy to submit to the will of another,
than to keep our own liberty and free-will within bounds.
To make use of the world as if we used it not, is what
every Christian is obliged to do ; but who are those who
do this ?
To possess temporal goods as if they possessed them
not, is a condition attached to , all who wish to be saved ;
but, tell me, where can we find people in the world who
are of this opinion ?
" What shall I render to the Lord for all the things that
He hath rendered to me?" (Ps. cxvi.) Ah! Lord, ought
we not say, You have broken my bonds with the world ? —
Dirupisti vinculo, mea ; and it is for that I will sacrifice to
you the sacrifice of praise ; and I will call upon the Name
of the Lord, and incessantly invoke Your holy Name. It
is for that, that prostrate at the foot of Your altar, I am
resolved to begin to make a sacrifice of myself. What
can I not do from henceforth, without delay? Have I not
ON RELIGION AND THE RELIGIOUS STATE.
421
the strength to deprive myself of that fatal liberty, which
can only lead me to some other object besides Thee ?
But You wish me to go further than this ; that I should
unite myself to You, by indissoluble bonds, after having
put myself to the test. Give me the consolation of being
able to do, with a hearty good-will, all that is permissive,
and to say with heartfelt gladness, " I will pay my vows
to the Lord in the sight of all His people."
For thus I can return love for love, sacrifice for sacrifice.
I shall have the advantage of being able to spare nothing
for You, who have spared nothing for me ; in fine, to be
His victim, as He has been mine.
BOURDALOUE.
Sermon for a Profession.
But, my dear brethren, while so many holy daughters
of the Church are about to resign all earthly ties, whilst
they, by day and night, will try to please their Creator,
what shall we do for our salvation ? Shall wre continue to
live in that frightful negligence and ingratitude to God —
in our forgetfulness of death and eternity ?
Who would believe it ! To see on one side their fear
and vigilance, and on the other side, our carelessness and
idleness.
That young girl, buried, as it were, in a cloister, thinks
herself fortunate if she can, after a seclusion of several
years, prepare for herself a happy death ; whilst that other
worldly girl, is busying herself with the pleasures of this
life, and, perhaps, has never thought seriously of death
or eternity.
That young man deprives himself of everything, as if he
had only a moment to live, whilst that one, only thinks of
hoarding up, and multiplying riches, as if he could , live
for ever. The one passes his life in mortification, the
other in pleasure.
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422 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
What can one say to this? Are there two paths to
heaven, one broad, the other narrow ? Is it, that paradise
is given to some for doing nothing, and is only reached by
others, at the sacrifice of their blood ?
You will tell me, we are not all religious, all monks, or
nuns. This is true, and it is that very thing which astonishes
me most. For what obligation has this person to bid
adieu to the world ? what has led her to renounce the
pomps and vanities of the world, if not to lead you, and
others, to do likewise ?
PfeRE DE LA COLOMBI ERE, S.J.
• ••••••
Oh, how safe is a holy religious ! The man lives there
in innocence and purity, he seldom falls, he often is the
recipient of heavenly blessings, he tastes a sweet tran-
quillity, and when he dies, he breathes out his last sigh,
full of hope and full of love for his Redeemer. His purga-
tory is over sooner, and his reward is plentiful. What he
leaves behind are but worldly possessions, transitory and
of very little value, and those he aspires to are infinite.
I say more than this, and what I say is true : he ex-
changes darkness for light ; from a stormy sea,' he anchors
in a safe harbour ; freed from a wretched slavery, he sighs
after a happy freedom ; and finally, he passes from death
to a life of everlasting bliss.
St. Bernard.
Epistle xiv.
Digitized by
ON RETREATS.
423
126.— flDn Betreato
St. Ephrem, Pere Le Valois,
and St. Gregory.
" I will allure her, and will lead her into the wilderness : and I will speak to her
heart." — Osee ii. 14.
[St. Ephrem was the son of a husbandman of Nisibe, and in early
youth, indulged in the practice of all the shameful vices of a barbarous
age. Through the mercy of God, he reflected on the sad state of his
soul, and withdrew to the desert, there to weep for his sins. Here he
practised every austerity, and mortified his body with fastings and
watchings. Ephrem did not, however, always remain in solitude, for
we read of his going to Edessa, and there he was raised to the rank
of Deacon. His ordination so inflamed his zeal, that it is related, that
afterwards he preached with as much ease as eloquence. Like the
Apostles, he now taught, that of which he was before so ignorant.
The poor looked upon him as their father, and the monks came to
him for direction. After a time of famine, when he did all he could
do to comfort the stricken, he retired to his solitary cell, and therein
died, about the year 379. St. Ephrem wrote several works in Syriac ;
these were afterwards translated into Latin and Greek, and published
in Rome in 1746, under the superintendence of Cardinal Quirini.]
O Solitude! ladder of heaven, mother of contrition,
mirror wherein we see our sins reflected, source of sweet-
ness, companion of humility and of the fear of God, light
. of the soul ! O solitude, which teaches us to know our
thoughts, to discern the promptings of our heart, which is
the foundation of salvation, the curb of intemperance, the
school of prayer, the peace of mind, the agreeable yoke,
the light burden! O solitude, effectual remedy against
temptation, the enemy of imprudence, the joy of the soul,
424
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
the guardian of the eyes, ears, tongue, and the co-opera-
trix of every virtue. The friend of poverty, the fertile field
of all good fruits, the wall and rampart of all those who
wish to fight for the kingdom of heaven.
Withdraw from the crowd and the noise, come and seek
for God in solitude.
It is God who calls those, who wish to speak to Him, it
is an appointment He Himself has made. Go into retreat,
and He will find you out ; there He will speak to your
mind and heart, and He will condescendingly be glad to
confer with you every time you hopefully trust in Him.
He will speak a language which, perchance, you never
heard before, and you will listen for the first time, and you
will hear Him henceforth, with consolation and with joy.
You will learn truths without number, which you will be
surprised you never heard before. You will become indif-
ferent to things, which before interested you, and you will
take as much care in fulfilling the duties of a Christian, as
you formerly did in not thinking of duty at all.
I do not now urge you to quit the world, and spend the
remainder of your life in solitude ; this is devoutly to be
wished for, and would be the surest way to secure your
salvation ; but your state of life does not allow of this, and
if I were to ask as much, I fear that you would not acqui-
esce in my request. On the other hajid, a retreat of one
hour or even a day is not sufficient, you must give to God
the time to speak to you, you must give yourself the time to
listen to what He says, to understand what He will reveal
to you ; to implore Him to sanctify your will and intellect,
so that you may be able to resist temptations, which have
not hitherto been resisted. And for this, you are asked to
devote a week. I dare to say, and I prophesy, that you
St. Ephrem.
ON RETREATS.
425
will find in this retreat, as did the Israelites in the desert,
a column of fire to enlighten your darkness, and a column
of cloud to defend you from the false glitter of the world,
and to hinder you from being dazzled.
God will be your guide as He was theirs, He will con-
duct you, as He conducted them, He will nourish you, as
He did them, with the bread of angels, and as He led them
up to the mountain of His sanctification, so He will lead
you, if only you have the courage to follow Him, and will
make you saints.
Perhaps, however, you will tell me that a retreat, of
which I have been speaking, is a recent invention, a new
practice, of which you have never heard speak. You have
always had an affection for antiquity in all things, but
more especially, in matters relating to religion and devo-
tion; you have always avoided show and singularity; but
I fancy that I hear you say, that it would be absurd to
alter our usual behaviour at our time of life ; it is too late
to begin to despise the world altogether ; we can save our
souls without going into retreat, and we must try to do so.
What ! my brethren, is it a recent invention to do what
the Son of God and His Apostles have practised; of which
they have given us so many examples ? Read the history
of the Church, and you will see that retreats have always
been the practice of the saints.
St. Gregory of Nazianzen went into retreat immediately
after he was consecrated, and he made so long a retreat,
that, on his return, he publicly apologised to his flock.
You know the long retreat that St. Jerome made; and that
St. Augustine entered into retreat more than once, and
the earnest entreaties which he made to Valerius, his
bishop, to allow him to make one about every two months.
Then, coming to our last centuries, we find that the glo-
rious Archbishop of Milan, St. Charles Borromeo, recom-
mended all the clergy of his diocese to make four retreats
426 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
before he ordained them priests ; and no year passed
without his going into retreat, and very often he made two
retreats in the year. I need not speak to you of St. Philip
Neri, St. Francis of Sales, St. Francis Borgia, and a num-
ber of others, who were sanctified by these means.
Is it not written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy"
(i Peter i. 16), and again, "Be you therefore perfect, as also
your heavenly Father is perfect" {Matt. v. 48).
But do you believe it to be possible to reach perfection,
without making a retreat ? Have you ever seen or heard
of persons being made holy by frequenting balls, assem-
blies, or by mixing with the noise, bustle, and intrigues of
the world ? Is it in such places as these that God has
been accustomed to shower down His special graces ?
Ah ! if we wish to receive His sanctifying grace, we must
be in a position to profit by it.
Le Pere Le Valois.
Extracts from a dozen Letters on the necessity of
making occasional Retreats,
It is necessary to seek occasionally for a spot, where
you can be free from the worry and bustle of temporal
affairs ; a place wherein God is alone with you, and you
alone with God.
" Enter, you and your family into the ark " {Gen, vii.)
It is as if the Lord had said to the just man, Enter into
thyself and meditate, thou wilt there find salvation ; a
deluge is to be dreaded outside the ark, for there is
danger around.
St. Gregorv.
On Book of Kings.
Digitized by
ON RICHES. 437
127.— Dn Kic&ejBf.
St. Chrysostom, Massillon,
and St. Basil.
" Riches are good to him that hath no sin in his conscience."
— ECCLKSIASTICUS xiii. 30.
THE love of riches is far more pernicious and more power-
ful than the devil himself, and many obey this love more
blindly than the pagans, who put their faith in idols. For
there have been many pagans, who did not obey their
devilish idols at all times, but people, who hanker after
riches, unreservedly respect everything that tends to feed
their covetousness ; as if covetousness said to them : " Be
revenged on society, forget the feelings of nature, despise
God/' They obey this to the letter.
To the idols were sacrificed animals, but covetousness
seeks to force their worshippers to sacrifice their own souls,
and they sacrifice these without remorse. If you despise
worldly blessings, you will be more worthy to possess
heavenly blessings.
St. Chrysostom.
From Homily No, 64 on St. John,
• ••*.*.
Poverty is not of itself holy, neither are riches criminal,
says St. Ambrose.
You may occasionally have seen poor people, over-
whelmed by the weight of their misery, grumble and rebel
against the dispensations of Divine Providence, but you
may also have seen some rich, who are not dazzled with
their gold, who possess property as if they possessed it not.
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428
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
If riches are a sword in the hands^of the foolish, " the
crown of the wise is their riches " (Prov. xix.)
If riches in the hands of prodigals and misers cause
them to heap iniquity on iniquity, they are in the hands
of the just and prudent a source of merit. But alas ! where
shall we find that just and prudent man, or rather where
is he, who has not bent his knee before the idol of the world
and fortune ?
Let us seek among all the rich for one, who has not
made a god of his gold, who has not believed that riches
are all his strength, and who, charmed with his treasures,
has not said to the precious metal, You are my confiding
hope, and you are the tender object of my love; you are
my crowning desire, and the end of my labours.
It must be confessed that a poor man is more likely to
be honest and virtuous than a rich man. It is a rare thing
to see a rich and virtuous individual combined. It is very
difficult to be good and pious in the midst of riches, and
more difficult to be saved in the midst of wealth and
plenty : " For they that will become rich fall into temp-
tation, and into the snares of the devil," says the great
Apostle {Tim. vi. 9).
Temptation follows those who wish to acquire riches,
because to gain their end they do not hesitate to em-
ploy fraud, injustice, theft, perjury, and homicide, in fact,
they make use of every vice to satisfy their cravings.
One sees that in every condition of life crime is the
willing attendant on those who inordinately desire to be
rich : the shop of the merchant is full of snares, to tempt
and deceive the purchaser; the judge is tempted to de-
prive the widow of her field, and the magistrate eagerly
gives his warrant, when there is a question of money accru-
ing to him ; the poor child, tired of being the son of poor
parents, employs every artifice, just or unjust, to accumu-
late a fortune; and the rich child, tired of being the son of
Digitized by
ON RICHES.
429
a rich father, becomes a cruel parricide, in order to inherit
and possess all his property.
The lover of wealth, says the wise man, despises every
commandment : " There is not a more wicked thing than
to love money" (Eccles. x. 10).
Show me the wisest woman, if once the love of gold and
silver enters into her heart — Ah ! she will soon be cor-
rupted, and Solomon will be right in saying, that he could
not find a strong woman, because no woman can resist
this temptation.
It is very, very difficult to have much property and much
religion at one and the same time. One cannot add to
fortune what one steals from Christianity ; one cannot
dream of possessing the treasures of heaven, when we
hoard a superfluity of wealth on earth. In a word, reli-
gion demands an undivided affection, but the possession
of temporal blessings stands sadly in the way. For if the
rich man give a portion of his wealth to religion, does he
not reserve the greater part to feed his love of riches ? and
when he prostrates himself before the altar of the Lord,
it often happens that in his heart, he is adoring his gold.
This is what St. Paul says, that he who gives his heart
to riches is not less excluded from the kingdom of God,
than he who burns his incense to idols. Oh ! monstrous
effect of riches, thus to stifle every sentiment of religion !
You possess many acres of land ; some are planted with
trees, some fields are well tilled. Besides these, you have
vineyards, undulating hills, beautiful prospects, woods,
rivulets, and pleasant promenades. Of what use are all
these blessings to you ! Six feet of earth await you at
the end.
Massillon.
St. Basil.
430
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
128.— Dn tfje OErceUence of tfce ©out
PERES HOUDRY, NEPVUE, BRETTEVILLE,
and St. Chrysostom.
" What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his
own soul? or what exchange shall a man give? "—Matthew x. 28.
ACCORDING to St. Paul we have two natures, one exterior,
the other interior, and these are the body and the soul.
Thus, as we have two sorts of lives, we are subject to two
kinds of deaths.
We have the corporal life, which we share with all created
animals, and we have the life of the soul, which renders us
like to the angels.
This latter is the spiritual life, pure, holy, and detached
from all that is earthly. The source of the life of the
body is the soul ; the source of the life of the soul is God,
who, dwelling in the soul by grace, maintains life in a
supernatural and divine way, just as the soul supports
the body in the natural way. And in the same way, the
soul separates from the body when dead, so in like manner,
the soul dies as soon as God abandons it, and is separated
from Him.
Again, as the soul is incomparably greater in value than
the body, and as God is infinitely above the soul, so when
God abandons it, this death of the soul, caused by the
withdrawal of God, is more dreadful, more frightful than
the death of the body, when the soul departs from it. * If
there is anything which ought to make us detest sin, as
being the greatest of all evils, it is, that it kills the soul,
Digitized by
ON THE EXCELLENCE OF THE SOUL.
431
by depriving it of the life of grace, and causing the loss of
God, who is the Sovereign good, and who alone can make
us eternally happy.
It follows then, that mortal sin deprives us of all the
merits we may have acquired during our life, in the same
way as death deprives men of all the goods and riches
they leave behind them.
Rev. Pere Houdry, S.J.
Let us reflect for a moment on what God has done for
us ; we shall find sufficient matter to enlighten us on the
love He has shown to our souls, " Come and see," says the
prophet, "and I will relate the wonders God has done for
my soul " (Ps. ix.)
If the Eternal Word came down from heaven and be-
came Incarnate, it is for the sake of my soul ; if He was
willing to be born in a stable, surrounded by vile animals,
it was the immense love He had for my soul, and this it
was that compelled Him to lower all His greatness. In
coming amongst us, His first thought was, to save my soul.
Doubtless, all love the object to which they give their
first thought ; confess it, ye who pollute your hearts for
the sake of the love of a miserable creature.
But the first and uppermost thought that God the Son
had, was the salvation of our soul ; this was, is, and ever
will be, the wish of His sacred heart. With this love in
view, let me address you in the words of the Apostle :
" Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus "
{Philip, ii. 5). Let all your actions tend to the salvation
of your souls, and let your first thoughts dwell on this only
important object.
Has it been your conduct throughout life ? Has the
safety of your soul been the first thought of your heart ?
Le Pere Nepvue.
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O adorable Saviour ! do not let us fall into so deplor-
able a blindness, as to prefer the good things of this world
to our soul. Ah ! what have You not done to save our
soul, that soul which cost You so much, and for the salva-
tion of which You have shed the whole of Your precious
blood. What a misfortune, or rather, how mad shall we
be, if we lose it for a mere trifle ! What is there in the
whole world, that can be compared to the soul, or what
can we offer in exchange for it ? " Quam dabit homo
comtniitationem, pro animd sua ? " says the Son of God
Himself.
Consequently, let us value it more than anything else;
let us forsake everything, rather than run the risk of losing
our soul, and then we shall inherit an eternal happiness.
To this, St. Chrysostom calls our attention, for in his Homily
on the Gospel of St. Matthew, he says : " He who has
lost his house, money, servants, and all his property, may
one day find them replaced and recovered ; but if he
should happen to lose his own soul, he cannot replace it
by another."
Would you know what is the value of your soul ? The
only-begotten Son of God, wishing to redeem this soul of
yours, has given, not a whole universe, not the earth or
sea with all its treasures, but His own most Precious
Blood, and from this you can judge of the greatness of
the price. When, therefore, you come to lose your soul,
after it has cost so much, at what price could you redeem
Bretteville.
it?
St. Chrysostom.
On Psalm xlviii.
ON THE PEACE OF THE SOUL.
433
129.— Dn t&e peace of tfje ©oul.
Father Segneri and SS. Edmund of
Canterbury, and Augustine.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, do
I give unto vou/'—John xiv. 27.
True peace is a certain mark of predestination. All those
who possess this peace being children of God, it is clear
that the heavenly inheritance belongs to them : " Whoso-
ever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God " (Rom. viii. 14).
It is this, that our Saviour means when He says : " Happy
are those who have a peaceful mind, for they shall be called
the children of God." He gives to the elect the glorious
title of sons of God, because they act, not as slaves, but
as true children of God. Slaves are submissive to their
master, through fear of suffering punishment, children, on
the contrary, are submissive to their father, through respect
and love, and they obey him with joy.
Such is the conduct of the saints of those glorious just
of the first class, to whom we here allude. They, with their
whole heart, were so resigned to the will of God that they
unreservedly placed themselves at His disposal, and thus
they showed that they were worthy to be children of God,
since those "led by the Spirit of God, they are sons of
God " (Rom. viii.)
But why does our Saviour say, that those that are led
by the Spirit of God will be called children of God?
% E
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Because these extraordinary saints are not merely sons by
adoption, like the ordinary just, but that they are acknow-
ledged and reverenced by the world.
It was also said of our Saviour Jesus Christ, they shall
call Him the " Son of the Most High," because His holi-
ness, His humility, His patience, wisdom, and meekness
ought to prove (except to those who wilfully close their
eyes to the true light) that He was the only Son of the
Almighty. You are perhaps a child of God because you
are pious ; but do you live in such a way that you could feel
within, that you are a child of God ? The surest sign you
could possibly show would be, to place all you have and all
you want at the disposal of your Heavenly Father. But
how can you lay claim to this title, you, whom the slightest
opposition disturbs and provokes ?
However, peace is like unto those rivers whose course
flows on in one continuous stream ; why are you not mind-
ful of My precepts, says the Lord ; your peace would be
like a river {Isaias).
He who, by dint of perseverance, has at last conquered
himself, passes his days in peace : Sedebit in pulchritudine
pacis {Isaias xxxii.) He is at peace with all men, because
he is without ambition, without envy, without attachment, to
the good things of this world. He is in peace with himself,
because his moral courage controls all sensual inclinations.
He is in peace with God, because he obey? Him in all
things, and as he always seeks to do His most holy will,
his conscience never reproaches him.
How beautiful is this peace, says the prophet : Pax ntulta
diligentibus legem tuatn. How this peace surpasses human
understanding ! It is full of sweetness and charity : Sede-
bit populus mens in pulchritudine pacis {Isaias).
St Augustine's definition is, that peace is a tranquillity
which is born of order. The order which is seen in a well-
guarded city, but frequently disturbed by civil wars, is not
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ON THE PEACE OF THE SOUL.
435
sufficient to prove that peace is therein enjoyed, because
its order is without tranquillity. The tranquillity which
may be found in a peaceful city, badly regulated for want
of subordination, does not suffice to prove that peace would
be lasting, because tranquillity would there be without
order. To enjoy true peace, tranquillity and order must
be firmly united.
Let us now. see who are those of whom our Saviour
speaks of — those who are peacemakers {Matt, v.) This
cannot be said of the wicked, who, however tranquil they
may sometimes be in their condition of life, are neverthe-
less continually tortured in mind and conscience. It is
therefore true to say that " there is no peace for the
wicked." They are not even the good, who have only
ordinary virtue, and do not enjoy tranquillity ; for although
they may be on the right way, they nevertheless yield to
temptations against the Spirit, and this troubles them
incessantly. "They have looked for peace, and behold
trouble" (Jer. xiv. 19).
Thus the only ones who can lay claim to the title of
" peacemakers " are those perfect Christians, who are dead
to themselves, in whom the flesh is brought under the sub-
jection of the Spirit; those who are entirely submissive to
God's holy will, obeying Him like children, and allowing
themselves to be guided in all things by the Holy Ghost.
[St. Edmund was born at Abingdon, in Berkshire. His parents
were pious and fervent Catholics. His father, when age was creeping
on, retired to a monastery to prepare himself for a happy death, but
his mother lived in the world and led a holy life, converting many by
the mere force of her exemplary piety. Edmund was sent to Paris,
and was soon so far advanced in learning, that he was made Professor
1 of Mathematics and Philosophy. Pope Innocent III., hearing of his
Rev. Father Segneri, S J.
Meditations.
436 HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
worth, commissioned him to preach the Crusades, and Pope Gregory
IX., wishing to recompense him for the zeal he displayed, appointed
him to fill up the See of Canterbury, which had long been vacant ; but
it was with great difficulty that he could be induced to accept the
archbishopric, but through obedience, he undertook the heavy respon-
sibility. The zeal he displayed in the reform of his clergy drew down
the wrath of even some of his chapter ; and seeing that he could no
longer countenance abuses he tried to reform, he secretly wended
his way to France, and died at Poissy on the 16th of November 1242,
after having been Archbishop of Canterbury during the space of eight
years. Pope Innocent IV. canonised this holy bishop in the year
1247.]
Letter from St. Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, about
the year 1235, written and sent to the clergy of his diocese.
We enjoin and entreat you to live in peace with all
men, as much as it may depend on you. Exhort your
parishioners and flock to be of one mind in the body of
Jesus Christ, by unity of faith and the bond of peace. To
settle amicably all disputes that may arise in your parishes,
to put an end to dissensions and quarrels as much as lies
in your power.
It is a duty for you, my brethren, to love peace, since
God is the author of peace. He has recommended it to
us. His wish is that peace shall reign on earth as well as
in heaven, and from this peace, all that is eternal depends.
" My dearly beloved," says the beloved disciple, " if God
has so loved us, let us love one another/'
Peace is the serenity of the soul, the tranquillity of the
mind, the simplicity of the heart, the bond of love, and
the union of charity.
St. Augustine.
De Yerbi Lorn.
ON SALVATION.
437
130.— Dn ©atoatfon*
SS. Ephrem and Chrysostom,
and Pere Nepvue.
"With fear and trembling, work out your salvation."
— Philippians iL ia.
THE wisdom of the pagan philosophers, and the eloquence
of their orators, were confounded at the extraordinary
sight of the death and triumphs of the early martyrs.
The tyrants and judges were seized with astonishment
when they witnessed the faith, courage, and even the
gaiety of these holy champions of the faith. What will
be our excuse at the tribunal of Jesus Christ if, after
having been saved from persecution and torture, we have
nevertheless neglected to love God, or even attempted to
work out our salvation ?
What a contrast ! on one side the martyrs, ever attached
to God in the midst of the severest trials ; and on the other,
the greater part of Christians who, in the bosom of a quiet
peace, refuse to give to God a heart, which He certainly
has a right to demand.
Once more, what could we do on that dreadful day, on
which our eternity depends ? Whilst the martyrs, full of
a holy confidence, would show to Jesus the scars of their
wounds, what should we have to show Him? Can we
offer Him a lively faith, a sincere charity, a disinterested
detachment from earthly things, successful victories over
our passions, souls fond of silence and solitude, hearts
pure and chaste, alms given to the poor, prayers, watch-
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ings, and tears ? Happy the man who is the bearer of
these good works, for he will appear with confidence
before Jesus Christ and His angels.
Holy martyrs, who have merited by your triumphs to
be intimately united to God in heaven, deign to intercede
on our behalf. We are but miserable sinners; but if you
will give us the help of your prayers, the grace of Jesus
Christ will enlighten our souls, and our hearts will be
inflamed with the fire of divine love.
If a man were to give immense treasures to the poor,
that good deed would not be equal in merit to that of a
man who contributes to the salvation of one soul. This
alms-deed is to be preferred to the distribution of ten
thousand pounds ; it is worth more than the whole world,
however large it may appear in our own eyes ; for a man's
soul is more precious than the whole universe. God has
nothing so much at heart, nothing gives Him so much
pleasure, as the salvation of souls.
The work of our salvation is, properly speaking, our
own individual work, because all the profit that accrues
therefrom, is for ourselves. In other affairs, he who works
is not he who has the profit. A husbandman sows and
reaps, but, more than often, it is not for himself; a father
works hard to increase his business or income, but it is
to enrich his children, and they often turn out to be
ungrateful; a judge is careful in his summing up, and
becomes, as it were, a victim of the public What does
it come to ? Simply a vain honour.
He who sows, says the Lord, is not often he who reaps :
St. Ephrem.
Homily on Holy Martyrs.
St. Chrysostom.
On Genesis.
ON SALVATION.
439
" that it is one man that soweth, and it is another that
reapeth" {John iv. 37). But in the work of our salvation,
he who works is he who alone has all the profit ; no one
can share it with him. " If you sow," says St. Paul, " you
shall reap a harvest, in proportion to the seed you shall
have thrown in."
If you pray, if you fast, if you bestow alms, if you
mortify your senses, if you crucify your flesh, all the profit
will not only be your gain, but it will increase a hundred-
fold in this life, and will last for ever in the next.
Salvation is our own work, because, if it meet with ill
success, the loss will be our own; no one can share it
with us.
In profitable but hazardous large businesses, people form
themselves into a company, and seek for others to insure
them from loss ; they prefer a smaller profit provided they
lessen their risk, and thus share with others the profit,
provided they share the loss.
But in the affair of salvation, there can be no company
formed, no insurance from loss ; we must alone take the
chance ; all the profit, or all the loss, will be our own, and
in this work, each works on his own account.
That zealous, good man, who has manifested so much
anxiety for your salvation, who has taken so much pains,
who has made your business, as it were, his own, will have
a share in the profit if he succeed, but he will not share in
the loss if he does not. That which will be your loss and
your condemnation, will be his profit and his merit.
Le Pere Nepvue.
Reflexions Chritiennes.
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131.— Dn Cemptation&
SS. Chrysostom, Francis de Sales, Augustine,
and Alphonse Rodriguez.
•* Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation."
—Matthew xxvL 41.
If God does not stop those temptations with which you
are assailed, He does it for reasons which are sure to result
to your advantage. First of all, He wishes you to know,
and feel from experience, that you have become stronger,
more powerful than your enemy. He wishes also that
this temptation may keep you, as it were, in a balance,
and that the dangers which threaten you prevent you from
being exalted, on account of the graces you have received.
God wills also that you should be tempted, in order that
the devil, who is in doubt if you have renounced him, at
length knows, by your patience, that you are still true to
your Lord and Saviour; more than this, God's intention
is, that your soul should be fortified through temptation,
and it thus remains stronger than ever.
In fine, God permits the enemy to attack you, in order
that you may realise by that, how great and precious is
the treasure He has intrusted to you. For Satan would
not have attacked you so violently, had he not seen you
elevated to a condition more glorious than that in which
you were in before. It was that which irritated him so
much when he saw Adam living in so glorious a garden ;
it was that, also, that made him so vexed against Job,
ON TEMPTATIONS.
441
when he saw that God even bestowed on him so many
praises.
St. Chrysostom.
Commentary on St, Matthew,
• • • • • • •
You must be courageous amidst temptations, and never
think yourself overcome so long as they displease you,
observing well this difference between feeling and consent-
ing, namely, we may feel temptations, though they dis-
please us ; but we can never consent to them, unless they
please us, since the being pleased with them ordinarily
serves as a step towards our consent.
Let, then, the enemies of our salvation lay as many baits
and allurements in our way as they please, let them stay
always at the door of our heart, in order to get admittance,
let them make as many proposals as they can; still, so long
as we remain steadfast in our resolution to take no pleasure
in the temptation, it is utterly impossible that we should
offend God.
With respect to the delectation which may follow the
temptation, it may be observed that, as there are parts in
the soul, the inferior and the superior, and that the inferior
does not always follow the superior, but acts for itself
apart, it frequently happens that the inferior part takes
delight in the temptation without the consent, nay, against
the will of the superior.
This is that warfare which the Apostle describes {Gal.
v. 17) when he says, that the flesh lusts against the spirit,
and that there is a law of the members and a law of the
spirit.
St. Francis de Sales.
Devout Life.
• •••••*
To encourage us in temptations, it will be a great help
if we consider the weakness of our enemy, and how little
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he is able to do against us, seeing that he cannot make us
fall into any sin against our own will. " Behold, my
brethren," says St. Bernard, " how weak our enemy is ; he
cannot overcome but him who has a mind to be overcome."
If a man who is going to fight were sure to overcome if he
would, how joyful would he be ? Would not he think
himself sure of a victory which depended only upon his
own will ? With the same confidence we should fight
against the evil one. For we know very well that the
devil cannot conquer, if we ourselves will it not.
St. Jerome remarks the same upon the words which the
evil spirit said to our Saviour, when, having carried Him
up to the pinnacle of the temple, he counselled our Lord
to throw Himself down headlong. " Cast Thyself down,"
said the tempter (Matt iv. 6) ; and this, adds the Saint, is
the true language of the devil, who desires nothing so
much as the fall of all men. He can, indeed, persuade
them to throw themselves down, but he cannot throw them
down himself. The voice of the devil says, "Throw your-
self down into hell." Answer1 him, " Do so yourself ; you
know the way ; as for me, I will not;" for he cannot have
the power to make you, if you have not the will to do it.
• •*...•
It is related in ecclesiastical history, that the Abbot
Isidore was attacked for forty years by a violent tempta-
tion, and yet never yielded to it. We see also a great
many examples of the holy fathers in the desert who, all
their lives, were attacked with violent temptations, which
they always sustained with a steady and equal confidence.
" These were those giants," according to the prophet, "who
were expert in war " {Baruch iii. 26). We ought to imitate
them in this ; and St. Cyprian, desiring to inspire us with
the same confidence, makes use of the words of God in the
prophet Isaias : * Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, and
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ON TEMPTATIONS.
443
called thee by thy name: thou art Mine. When thou shalt
pass through the waters, I will be with thee, and the rivers
shall not cover thee; when thou shalt walk in the fire,
thou shalt not be burnt, and the flames shall not burn
thee ; for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel"
(Isaias xliii. 1-3).
Those words also of the same prophet are well fitted to
strengthen us in the same holy confidence : "As one whom
the mother caresseth, so will I comfort you " (Isaias lxvi.
13). Imagine with what marks of love, a mother receives
her infant, when, being frightened at anything, it casts
itself into her arms ; how she embraces it, how she presses
it to her breast, how she kisses and tenderly caresses it;
but the tenderness of God for those who have recourse to
Him in temptations and dangers is, without comparison,
far greater.
1 Alphonse Rodriguez.
On Temptations.
During life's pilgrimage on earth we cannot be without
temptations; we profit and advance only through tempta-
tions; we should not acquire self-knowledge unless we
were tried. No crown without a victory, no victory with-
out a struggle, and no fight without temptations and
enemies.
If we were never tempted, we should never be tried ; is
it not, therefore, better to be tempted, than to be censured
without being tempted ?
St. Augustine.
On Psalm lxix.
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132.— flDn Focatton to a State of £tfe«
Pere Nepvue, Massillon, and
St. Philip Neri.
" Let every man abide in the same calling in which he was called."
—Corinthians vii. 20.
THERE is nothing more important, nothing better, than to
enter into a state of life, to which God has called us, and
to make choice of a vocation which His providence has des-
tined for us. The whole universe is, so to speak, the house
of God; all mankind are His family, both as His subjects,
and His children. It is the master, who assigns to each
his office. God is a Father and an infinitely wise Master,
and He knows what each one is fitted for. But He is as
good as He is wise, and thus it is, that He will not fail to
assign to each of us a proper post, if only we leave every-
thing to His Divine management.
This is not what the majority do; it is mere chance, caprice,
a spirit of interested ambition, or a blind love, which leads
them onwards ; it is through such irregular motives which
lead them to adopt a particular state of life. Can they
fail to go astray if they put their trust in such bad hands !
But, alas ! they not only go astray, but they fall into the
precipice. If nothing is so easy as to fall, so nothing is so
difficult as to retrieve one's self.
The consequences of this failure are terrible ; since when
once we have gone astray it is difficult to limit its extent.
From this it follows, that if we are not in that state of life
to which God has called us, if we are not in that position
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ON VOCATION TO A STATE OF LIFE.
445
which Providence has marked out for us, nothing can
succeed.
God had given us the qualifications and talents, suitable
for the state of life to which He had called us; if we had
accepted this, we could not have failed, with these disposi-
tions, to have done well. We have taken or rather chosen
another path, we are engaged in another employment
which God had not destined for us, because we were not fit
for it; can we then be astonished if we manage affairs
badly, or if nothing succeeds with us ?
And again, does not the success of our enterprises and
the happiness of our life depend on God and on His
blessing? People only wonder that a man who is so
clever, a man with so much talent, merit and understand-
ing, should meet with so little success, that all his efforts
seem to be unavailing, and his business seems to diminish
daily. It seemed to them that he could scarcely fail of
success. Nothing was wanting but the blessing of God,
and that alone was the cause of his failure. But how was
it that God had not blessed his endeavours ? It was, that
he had entered into that state of life, into that employment
without consulting God, without a vocation.
A bone which is out of its place is very painful, and
causes the whole frame to suffer; so also, a man who is not
in the proper place which Divine Providence marked out
for him, is full of grief and vexation ; he suffers much, and
is the cause of suffering to others.
Is not this the reason why you see so few people content
with their employment ; is not this, perhaps, the source of
all their troubles ?
Le Pere Nepvue.
Kefl xions Chritiennes.
He who alone knows our strength, who sounds the
depth of our hearts ; He who has fixed from the begin-
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ning the way which He wishes us to take — He alone should
be the first to be consulted in the choice of a state of life
we are about to select
As it is, God, who, in His eternal council has prepared
proper and necessary means to effect our good ; so it is
He, who should be consulted in the first steps we take to
arrive at a desirable determination ; for all those motives
of interest, of rank, of birth, of talent, which have usually
the uppermost voice in our choice of a state of life, are but
deceitful guides, and almost always induce us to make a*
change.
He who does not follow the will of God in his choice of
a state of life, is always in danger, and on the other hand,
he who follows the path which our Lord has marked out
for him, is always safe.
God wished that you should walk one way, you have
followed another ; He had prepared sufficient grace to help
you in the state of life He marked out for you, and He
withholds it when you have chosen for yourself.
By His way He wished to lead you to salvation, and you
have thwarted His will. He had given you an inclination
to be pious and good, a heart devoid of deceit and vain
glory ; all that showed that He destined you for the altar,
and that solitude was your place.
However, you have selected a busy employment in the
world : what obstacles do you not meet with in your wish
to be saved ? What dangers do you not encounter ?
Massillon.
Lenten Sermons.
When seculars have once chosen their secular state, let
them persevere in it, and in the devout exercises which
they have begun, and in their works of chanty, and they
shall have contentment at their death.
St. Philip Neri.
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ON DEATH.
447
133.— Dn £>eat&.
(In General)
Fathers Segneri and Faber.
" Thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return/'
—Genesis iii. 19.
The time of our death is absolutely unknown to us:
Nescit Jiomo finem sunm. There is nothing that can make
us certain of a single moment of our life ; on the contrary,
how many chances there are of our being deprived of life
in an instant !
Death can carry us off in a thousand ways ; it may seize
us boldly, it may take us by surprise. Perhaps, alas!
death may be near, perhaps it may be within you, without
your knowing it.
Picture to yourself a fish in a net ; it is caught, and it
does not perceive it; it plays, it darts about with other
fish who are without fear. Nevertheless, its career is
ended ; and who knows how soon your end may be near ?
Perhaps the net is cast, and it may be drawn up without
your being aware of it. Jeremiah the prophet says : " I
have caused thee to fall into a snare, and thou art taken,
O Babylon, and thou wast not aware of it ; thou art found
and caught, because thou hast provoked the Lord " (Jer.
Why do you not then open your eyes, and see the
danger in which you are ? Hold yourself in readiness, be
on your guard, prepare quickly, and make as good a con-
fession as you would wish to make on your death-bed ; for
1. 24).
448
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
you know not when the time will come. The hour of
your death, is it still far off? You can wish it, you can
hope that it is so, but you do not know it : Nescitis. It is
the Son of God even who says that you do not know it,
for He tells it to all : Omnibus dico. Can He deceive us ?
Is not His testimony — His word — sufficient?
Do not rely on your youth, on your health, on your
good looks, on your strength of mind ; possessing all these
blessings, you know not if you will be alive to-morrow ?
Our Saviour says it to every one — whoever you are,
young, old, in sickness, in health— watch and pray, for you
know not when the time will come. Look at that man of
the world, he fancies that he is happy, and yet he is the
most wretched of men. He at least anticipates approach-
ing happiness ; he, nevertheless, is only pursuing a phantom.
How could he be happy ? He knows neither true happi-
ness, nor the way to procure it. He is as one asleep, and
dreams of castles in the air ; he mistakes appearances for
the reality, and at last he wakes at the moment of his
death, and finds himself denuded of everything.
How awful is this slumber! for the worldling wakes
and finds that there is no time for repentance, no time to
seek for the true happiness he has so oft despised, and
the pleasures which seduced him have exhausted all his
strength.
Do not allow me, O my God, to fall into a sleep so
frightful. And if I have fallen into sin, do not wake me
at the moment of my death, like that madman to whom
You said, " This night thy soul shall be required of thee."
Father Segneri.
Meditations.
• ••«•••
The act of dying is very simple and very short. Yet all
men fear it, and some fear it so much, that it casts a
shadow over their whole lives. It is the separation of
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ON DEATH.
449
body and soul, the end of that companionship between
them, which is a mystery we have never been able to
fathom, and which we should have imagined, if we had
not been otherwise taught, involved our very existence,
our personality.
The act of dying is, moreover, a punishment, and the
most ancient of all punishments. It is the Creator's first
punishment of the sinning creature, invented by the Creator
Himself, the first promulgated invention of His vindictive
justice. It can therefore, under any circumstances, hardly
be a light one, whether we consider the Being who thus
punishes, or the thing punished, which is sin. Indeed, it
is a penalty, which nothing could render tolerable to
the creature, except the Creator Himself suffering it, and
diffusing the balm of His own death over the universal
deaths of men. It is true that men have desired to die,
and they have sinned by the desire, because it was the
fruit of an unsanctified impatience. Others have desired
to die, but then they were men who had also in them the
grace to desire to suffer. Some have desired to die,
because they pined for God, and the pains of death were
a small price to pay for so huge a good.
Some deaths have been so beautiful, that they can
hardly be recognised as punishments. Such was the
death of St. Joseph, with his head pillowed on the lap of
Jesus. Yet the twilight bosom of Abraham was but a
dull place, compared with the house of Nazareth, which
the eyes of Jesus lighted. Such was Mary's death, the
penalty of which was rather in its delay. It was a soft
extinction, through the noiseless flooding of her heart with
divine love.
All who die well are safe with God. As the life is, so
shall the end be.
Father Faber (Orat.)
Sermons.
2 F
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134.— j©n £>eatk
(A Good and Bad Death.)
SS. Bernard, Philip Neri, and Peres
Giroust and Houdry.
" The souls of the just are in the hands of God, and the torments of death shall
not touch them."— Wisdom iii. t.
"Zambri died in his sins which he had sinned, doing evil before the Lord." —
3 Kings xvL 19.
How consoling it is to see a just man die ! His death is
good, because it ends his miseries; it is better still, because
he begins a new life ; it is excellent, because it places him
in sweet security. From this bed of mourning, whereon
he leaves a precious load of virtues, he goes to take posses-
sion of the true land of the living.
Jesus acknowledges him as His brother and as His friend,
for he has died to the world before closing his eyes from
its dazzling light. Such is the death of the saints, a death
very precious in the sight of God.
But, on the other hand, see how shocking is the death of
the wicked. The least evil is, the loss of all the good
things of this world ; the separation of body and soul is
more dreadful still, but the worst of all is the devouring
flame, the gnawing worm that never dies.
St. Bernard.
When that frail frame, that body, of which he was far-
from being indulgent, begins to succumb under human
infirmity, to sink under the laws of nature, what keeps it
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ON DEATH.
451
back ? What delays its final extinction ? The fruit is
ripe ; it begins to loosen from the pending stalks ; a gentle
shake will make it fall upon the ground.
How consoling to hear the good man say to himself : I
am dying, I have soon to bid adieu to the world ; that is to
say, I am about to resign worldly blessings, which I have
hitherto despised, and which, in fact, are of little value to
a Christian soul. Whilst I was master of my body, I could
not trust it, and I was not allowed to pamper it with deli-
cacies. What use, then, will it be to wish to preserve that
which I am told not to love ?
I die ! — that is to say, I shall sigh no more in this land of
exile ; I shall no longer be exposed to dangerous enemies,
to uneasiness, to vexatious troubles, inseparable from a
life which is always full of trouble. I die ! — that is to say,
I shall not, O Lord, offend Thee any more. I shall have no
more temptations to struggle against, no sins of thought,
word, or deed, no more dangerous battles to fight.
If this detachment is not always so perfect as here de-
scribed, it is always with a resignation that belies every
sentiment opposed to the divine commands; it calls to
mind the holy thoughts that have been fixed on his memory
from early youth ; it makes a virtue of that which God
thinks necessary, and making use of death in order to
fortify himself against death itself, he gives up blessings,
for the very reason that they were given to him, as transi-
tory benefits.
Thus far, this good man looks upon himself as a victim
which God sacrifices to His glory. No other altar than
the bed on which he lies, where he is humbled under the
hand which strikes him. It is there that the victim is pre-
pared and sacrificed, there glory penetrates his bosom,
there the fire of divine love consumes him, and there the
holocaust is perfected.
Thy will, O Lord, be done ; this sacrifice is due to You,
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and I am well repaid if Thou deignest to accept it. At
one time he looks upon himself as a culprit, whom God
punishes, and mercy ends by purifying and chastening
him. For when we say, a just man, we ought not to
understand by that, that he is a saint of the first order,
one free from the slightest imperfection, one whose merits
exceeds what God in justice asks from His creature. The
sick penitent condemns himself and blesses the Judge who
punishes him, in order to forgive him, and who does not
spare himself, in order that he might the better be spared.
At another time, in submissive humility, he adores the
Almighty power of the Creator, who made him, and who
disposes of His work as He pleases. God so wills it ; God
ordains it; may His holy will be done. At last, at the
sight of Jesus on the Cross, he feels encouraged, and at
the same time confounded. You have suffered, O Lord,
before for me, and how incomparably greater have Your
sufferings been. Like unto You, I die on the cross ; happy
shall I be, if I may reign with You in heaven.
At the hour of death nothing is more frightful to the
wicked than the recollection of their sins. At that hour
God will repay them with all the fears and remorse which
may have lain dormant during life. His judgments then
will be much more just, and much more holy.
St. Chrysostom sums this up in few words, for he says:
Pondus et pondus% mensura et mensura. There is a weight
and a weight, a measure and a measure ; a weight during
life, a weight at the hour of death.
During the life of that libertine, impurity passed off as
gallantry ; at death it is an unbearable fire within, equal
to the flames of hell : Pondus et pondus. A cruel usury
is looked upon as a clever stroke of business ; at death,
Le Pere Giroust.
ON DEATH.
453
it is theft and robbery : Mensura et mensura.. An alms
coldly refused during life, is allowed ; at the hour of death
it is cruelty and homicide : Pondus et pondus. A calumny
is enjoyable, an allowable revenge during life; at death it
is harsh injustice: Mensura et mensura. In fact, there. is
a difference in looking at a sin clothed in the garb of
alluring pleasure, and a sin exposed to view in all its ugly
nakedness ; and it is at the hour of death that the wicked
will see their sins in the latter form or shape. Thus it was
said formerly by the Prophet, " The sorrows of death sur-
rounded me, and the torrents of iniquity troubled me."
In vain will an able confessor try to drive away the
vision from his mind, in order to prevent the man from
falling into despair. Everything, even the Sacraments of
Jesus Christ, will remind him of his sins.
Le Pere V. Houdry, S J.
• •••••*
We must accept our own death, and that of our rela-
tions, when God shall send it to us, and not desire it at
any other time; for it is sometimes necessary that it
should happen at that particular moment, for the good
of our own and their souls.
St. Philip Neri.
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135.— flDn tfje particular 3Iu&gment
P&res Du Pont and Croiset.
11 It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment"
—Hebrews ix. 27.
The time appointed for this particular judgment, is the
precise moment of death. For although God, by a par-
ticular arrangement of His justice, might have been willing
to condemn some sinners before their death, in order to
keep men in fear by an exemplary punishment, neverthe-
less it is His will to judge in an invisible manner, when
the soul leaves the body; and at this very moment, all
will be tried, settled, and finished. The Judge hears the
accusers, pronounces the sentence, and puts it into execu-
tion without delay.
It is, then, this dreadful moment I ought to have ever
before my eyes, since it will be the beginning of either my
happiness, or of my eternal condemnation.
O fatal moment which leads to eternity! The soul
which is summoned to appear, will at this moment be
alone, deprived of its body, separated from all visible
creatures, accompanied only by its deeds. For, before its
separation from the body, parents, relations, friends, priests,
may be found around the bed ; there is hot a single soul
can follow it, not one who can protect it in the other world.
The soul of a king is of no more value than that of a
peasant ; the soul of a rich man may be poorer than that
of the meanest beggar; the most clever may be outrivalled
by the most ignorant ; dignities and riches are only fleeting
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ON THE PARTICULAR JUDGMENT.
advantages, and talents are of no consideration in that
other life, where good works are only rewarded.
Meditate, my brethren, on this last moment, and employ
well every moment of your life ; for on this last one de-
pends a life which will never end.
Father Du Pont.
Meditations,
• ••••••
Conceive, if it is possible, what must be the horrible
dread of a soul which feels that it hangs to its body, as it
were, by a thread, and that in two or three minutes, it will
have to appear before the awful tribunal of God.
At that time, its conscience will be its worst enemy ; it is
the conscience which will, even before the last sigh, make
manifest every thought and word, and, so to speak, will
foreshadow the judgment and sentence. It feels that time
will soon be no more, and it begins to see the horizon of
an awful eternity ; the uncertainty of its fate, the fear of
.eternal punishment, the reasons why it should fear it— all,
all reduce the soul to a state, which may be called an
anticipated Hell.
This poor soul, on the point of appearing before God
(that supreme Judge, whom it well knows it has so often
insulted), finds itself laden with debts, and there is now no
time to pay them, no means of cancelling them. It would
certainly have been able to find enough in the merits of the
precious Blood to satisfy the Divine justice; but is it in a
state to say, that it is worthy of the promises of Christ ?
Troubled and frightened as it is, has it the presence of
mind and tranquillity sufficient for that ?
But this person expires, and at the very moment the
trial has commenced, the judgment is pronounced, the
sentence is executed ; at that very moment that person's
soul enters into an awful eternity ; at that instant, if it be
damned, it feels the extent of the torments it will ever
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have to suffer. No regard will be paid to age, employ-
ments, or quality ; of all the titles, the only one which will
remain, the only one which will be taken into considera-
tion after death, is that of Christian, and on that title we
shall all be judged.
The promises made in baptism, the strict obligations
which have been contracted, the precepts of the Christian
law, and the maxims of the Church, will be examined into,
at this judgment If this soul should be in a state of
mortal sin, even if it be a guilty desire, or a sin of thought,
it is at that moment condemned to everlasting flames.
Howsoever hard may be this judgment, howsoever fright-
ful may be the sentence, the soul itself feels the justice of
its sentence.
There, excuses are useless ; no need of alleging weak-
ness, surprise, bad example, or violence of temptation; it
sees, it feels all its error, all those vain pretexts, all those
frivolous reasons which served during life as excuses or
palliations; these will then serve to increase our regret,
and will enkindle within us nought but anger and indig-
nation.
All is lost; time, all means of salvation, the infinite
price of the blood and death of the Redeemer ; all is lost
for me, and all is lost for ever, since I lose God Himself.
Rev. Pere Croiset.
Retreats.
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ON THE LAST JUDGMENT.
457
136.— Dn tfje Eastt 3[uDgment
Bourdaloue and Father Segneri.
" The day of the Lord shall come, a cruel day and full of indignation, and of
wrath and fury, to lay the land desolate, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it."
— Isaias xiii. 9.
THIS last judgment will not only be favourable and
honourable to, but anxiously longed for, by the just and
the elect..
For their glory, says St. Chrysostom, will shine in the
light of day, and their happiness, and even the crowning
of their desires will be, that not only their sincerity of pur-
pose, but their purity of intention, will be at last displayed;
their glory will be, that they are thoroughly known, since
not to have been known, was the original cause of all their
disgrace.
This, ye faithful souls, who, notwithstanding the corrup-
tions and vices of the age, have served your God in spirit
and in truth, this is what must, amidst the hardships of
life, have strengthened your resolution, and filled you with
consolation.
At that dreadful moment, when the book of conscience
will be open, your hope, enlivened by the sight of the
Sovereign Judge, and on the point of being fulfilled, will
support you, and well repay you for the unjust persecu-
tions of the world.
Whilst the reprobate, confounded, troubled, and aston-
ished, shall advance with downcast eyes, you, because that
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will be the hour of your justification, will appear with con-
fidence.
Now, envy and calumny cast at you their poisoned
darts ; but then, envy will be forced to be silent, or, if it
should speak, it will be in your favour ; calumny will be
refuted, and truth will shine forth in all its lustre. Never-
theless, you will rejoice in the secret witness of your
own heart, which is preferable to all the praises of the
world.
Say with St. Paul, It is of little consequence what men
think of me, since it is my God who will one day be my
judge. "For he that judgeth me is the Lord" (i Cor. vil)
Or say with the prophet Jeremias, " It is Thou, O Lord,
who judgest justly, and triest the reins and the hearts, let
me see Thy revenge on them : for to Thee have I revealed
my cause " (Jer. xi. 20).
The Son of God will come to glorify humility in the
persons of the humble. It is a justice He will pay to His
elect. That humility, that simplicity, that patience in
suffering without a thought of revenge, which worldlings
will have looked upon as weakness of mind, or meanness
of spirit, God will come to crown these, and will convince
the world that therein consisted true fortitude, true gran-
deur of soul, true wisdom.
It is " then," says the Book of Wisdom (chap, v.) " shall
the just stand with great constancy against those that
have afflicted them, and taken away their labours." It is
then that the wise ones of the world, freethinking unbe-
lievers, will not only be surprised, but disconcerted to see
those very persons, whom they looked down upon as the
refuse of the world, placed upon thrones of glory. It is
then that many, amazed and almost beside themselves,
will cry out, These are they whom we have often laughed
to scorn. Fools that we were ! their life appeared to us to
be ridiculous, and their way of life as folly. Nevertheless,
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ON THE LAST JUDGMENT. 459
now behold them, raised to the rank of children of God,
and their inheritance is with the saints.
It is then that the pride of the world will, perforce, bear
witness, although by compulsion, to the humility of the
elect of God ; and the whole effect of our Lord's promise
will be perceived clearly, and in a particular manner :
" Every one that humbleth himself shall be exalted "
{Luke xiv.).
BOURDALOUE.
Advent Sermon.
• • t • • • • •
I am always sure, O my God, of having deserved Your
anger ; when even I tried to do penance, I was uncertain
whether my heart was not deceived, or that I had found
favour in Your eye. The day of Your vengeance being
near, I have nothing to expect but a judgment without
mercy. Have I not reason to fear ? but I knew that the
fear of Your judgment would be of service to me.
It is that holy fear which has peopled, and will people
deserts. It would make me fly from the seductions of the
world, it would make me wish to go into retreat, and
through that, would be to me a haven of safety. Create
in my heart, O my God ! this wholesome fear, which has
made the security of the just banish from it that fatal in-
difference, which is the greatest danger of a Christian.
We should, indeed, be mad, and very blind, not to think
of this last judgment, or to think of lightly of it.
This was not the case with St. Bruno; he was in the
constant habit of selecting the last day as his meditation ;
it was ever present in his mind, and he never lost sight of
the severe account we shall have one day to render to the
Sovereign Judge.
If we try to follow the example of this glorious Saint,
how changed will be our lives ! How soon we shall become
new men I
Rev. Father Segneri.
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137— Dn jpurgatorg.
'* There shall not enter into heaven anything defiled. "-^Apocalypse xxL 27.
Amen, I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last
farthing." — Matthew v. 26.
What the Saints and Fathers of the Church have written
on Purgatory.
In the second book of Machabees, chap, xii., we read that
Judas Machabeus, having made a gathering, sent twelve
thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem to be offered for
the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously con-
cerning the resurrection.
Not only does Holy Scripture approve of this, but it
praises it, by saying, that it is a holy and wholesome
thought
Luther and other heretics boldly deny that the two books
of the Machabees are not of the number of sacred books ;
but, in addition to the fact that these books had for more
than three centuries, been acknowledged as canonical, we
have an express decree of the third Council of Carthage,
at which St. Augustine assisted, and who subscribed his
name thereto, along with the other Fathers.
Before this Council there were many authors who doubted
of their authenticity, but since the decree of this said
Council, the whole Christian world have received them as
canonical books.
St. Chrysostom teaches us what has been the practice
of the Apostles, for in his 49th Homily to the people
of Antioch we read : " It is true that the Apostles had
decreed that when celebrating the Divine mysteries a com-
memoration for the dead should be made, for they well
knew that the dead would profit by it." It is thus, that
the saintly Doctor speaks, and he affirms that it was by
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ON PURGATORY.
461
order of the Apostles that prayers should be said for the
faithful departed.
But if we wish for a witness of the apostolical tradition,
can we desire for one more satisfactory than that of one of
the disciples of Jesus and His Apostles ?
It is St. Denis, the Areopagite, who distinctly explains,
in the book of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, wherein he
tells of many things instituted by God in favour of those
who have departed from this life in a Christian-like way.
He says, that the priest should offer up a devout prayer for
the dead ; he adds, that this prayer is to implore the Divine
mercy to pardon all the faults of the deceased, which he
may have committed through human frailty.
We cannot question this truth after the decision of the
third Council of Carthage, attested by St. Augustine, and
since confirmed by the Sixth Synod. This Council not only
declares that the two books of the Machabees are canonical,
but it forbids the celebrant of the Divine mysteries from
offering up the Holy Sacrifice, unless he is fasting. This
is why, says he, if, after dinner, you are obliged to pray to
God for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed, you
should make use of simple prayers. Moreover, the Council
of Nice speaks in somewhat a similar strain. When a bishop
dies, notices must be sent to all the churches and monas-
teries in his diocese, in order that prayers, masses, &c,
may be offered up for his soul.
Who can teach us the holy customs of the early Church
better, than so many prelates and doctors, no less illus-
trious for their piety than for their learning, who have been
ocular witnesses of what they have written about ?
This is what St. Augustine says : " We read in the books
of Machabees that sacrifices were offered up for the de-
ceased, but one can find nothing like unto this in the ancient
Scriptures. The authority of the Church, which approves of
so holy a practice, ought, however, to be of great weight."
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Again, among the several prayers that are recited at the
altar, there are some offered to God for the faithful de-
parted (De cura pro mort). We must therefore conclude,
from the words of this great Saint, that when we might be
mistaken as to what he says of Purgatory, as Calvin wished
(which is very erroneous), we must confess that what he
has said about the custom of praying for the dead (a custom
acknowledged by the whole Church) must be incontestably
true ; how could so learned a doctor not know of a custom
which was in use throughout the whole Church, a custom
he was a daily witness of ?
We have othen testimonies quite as genuine, such as
those of St Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nazian-
zen, St. Cyril, St. Chrysostom, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, St.
Ambrose, and St. Jerome. All these are quoted by Bel-
larmin, in his " Treatise on Purgatory."
If the general feeling of all nations and tribes who
acknowledge that there is a Supreme Being is an invin-
cible argument against the atheists, who do not acknow-
ledge one, it is an argument no less convincing, against
those heretics who reject the doctrine of Purgatory, for
this belief is common to Pagans, Turks, Jews, and to the
majority of civilised persons who pray to the dead.
The light of reason will tell us that there are three
classes of persons in the world. The first, are those who
are so virtuous and holy that they merit an eternal reward ;
the second, are the wicked, and those who die in the state
of mortal sin, and these are justly condemned to everlast-
ing fire ; the third class retain the middle state, they have,
in truth, performed many good deeds worthy of reward,
but at the same time they have committed venial sins,
which deserve a temporal punishment at least, thus these
said sins may not have been punished or atoned for in this
world, consequently we must come to the conclusion that
they will be expiated in the other. This is the argument
of St. Augustine {Enchirid. 109).
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ON HELL.
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138.— Dn $eil.
Pere Biroat and Father Faber.
" Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which has been prepared for the devil and
liis angels. " — Matthew xxv. 41.
THERE is, alas ! a difference between the sufferings of this
world and the torments of helL The sufferings of this
world are limited, and do not affect the whole man ; the
mind suffers only in proportion to its union with the body,
and one member alone, endures pain in proportion to its
sympathy with the brain ; but the tormenting fires of hell
enter into every power of the soul, and every member of
the body.
The pains we suffer on earth are, so to speak, but mo-
mentary, and death puts an end to them ; but in hell they
have no end ; death has no power there, and their im-
mortal bodies partake of the immortality of the soul.
Again, in this world we always find some little consola-
tion, or some temporary relief from pain, but in that place
of torture every pain will be extreme, and without inter-
mission ; our friends, from whom we might have expected
some consolation, will then be our enemies ; for if they are
saved, they will have no sympathy with our sufferings;
and if they are lost, as we are lost, they will only increase
and aggravate our pains.
The fires of hell will perform two frightful functions
with regard to the damned ; one will serve as a chain to
bind them to the place, the other will be a horrible mirror
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reflecting their sins, and their frightful consequences, the
sight of which will increase their torments.
Although they say that hell is a region of darkness, that
the action of light will be merged in the power of burning,
it can, however, be said that there will be a certain dark
and opaque light which will reflect all that is detestable
and hateful, and that this fire, which surrounds them, will
be like a blazing theatre, which will show them a thousand
horrid phantoms. But the most terrible image that this
mirror will reflect, will be, that of the justice of Almighty
God, eternally incensed ; and it is the opinion of some
theologians that the greatest punishment of this fire, con-
sists in being the sign of the anger of God, which will
continually show them, and that, too, by an inevitable
necessity, a God always angry with them, and always
ready to damn them.
Father Biro at.
Third Friaay of Lent.
It is fearful to think upon the union of God's power,
wisdom, and justice, in producing this world of punish-
ment, this wonderful, mysterious, and terrific part of crea-
tion, which is, in its desolate mysteries, as much beyond
our conception, as the joys of heaven are in their resplen-
dency. Nevertheless, we will leave the great evil, the loss
of God, out of view, and all the horrible details of the
cruelties of physical torture. Bating all these things, what
sort of a life will the life in hell be, after the resurrection ?
It will be a life, where every act is the most hateful and
abominable wickedness. We shall understand sin better
then, and be able* more truly to fathom the abysses of its
malice. Yet every thought we think, every word we
speak, every action we perform, we shall be committing
sin, and committing it with a guilty shame and terror,
which will be insupportable.
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ON HELL.
465
To this we must add the mental agonies of hell. Envy,
despair, spite, rage, gloom, sadness, vexation, wounded
sensitiveness, weariness, loathing, oppression, grief, dejec-
tion, wildness, bitterness, — all these are there, in all their
kinds, and in unspeakable intensity. Think of a violent
access of sorrow now,' think of the rawness of lacerated
feeling, think of a day's leaden load of oppression. Now,
without pause, without alleviation, without even vicissitude
of suffering, here is a blank, huge, superincumbent eternity
of these things, with an undistracting multiplicity of wretch-
ednesses, far beyond the worst degrees they could ever
reach on earth.
The life in hell, is a life from which there is a total
absence of sympathy and love. This is an easy thing to
say; but it is not so easy to penetrate into its significance.
The life in hell is also a life of terror, and a life, too,
without pauses, diminutions, or vicissitudes. No angel
ever wings his way thither, on an errand of consolation.
All the united eloquence of hell could not bring one drop
of water from earth's thousand fountains, to cool the
torture for one lightning's flash of time. All is uninter-
mitting.
• •*•»••
Yet this is the bright side of hell ! How bitter the words
sound ; yet it is not bitterness which prompts them, but
the intense fear which pierces through me like splinters of
ice at this moment. This is hell, with the hell left out, the
crowning woe, the loss of God.
Father Faber (Orat.)
Spiritual Conferences.
2 G
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139.— €)n $eat>en.
PfeREs Crasset and Nepvue, S.J.,
and St. Chrysostom.
" God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes : and death shall be no more,
nor mourning, nor crying, for the former things are passed away." — Apocalypse
xxi. 4.
[Jean Crasset was born in Dieppe, on the 3d of January 161 8,
and died in 1692. This true servant of God formed one of the band
of the followers of St. Ignatius, and will always be esteemed as one of
the many learned members of the Society of Jesus. In the year 1685
he published a work, which has often been reprinted ; it is called
" Christian Reflections for Every Day in the Year.* He also has left
us a History of Japan, and his detailed account of the Acts of the
Martyrs, is more interesting, than in the work written by Pere Char-
levoig. His devotional works have been much admired, and may
still be read with profit.]
I BELIEVE,' O my <iod, that if I serve You faithfully in this
life, I shall be eternally happy after my death, and that
You will bid me enter into the palace of Your glory, where
there will be all that I can wish for, and where there will
be nothing to fear ; where there will be good without evil,
pleasure without pain, glory without confusion, peace with-
out war, joy without sadness, repose without trouble, and
life everlasting. I hope that in heaven I shall see You,
that I shall love You, that I shall possess You, that I shall
rejoice with You ; that I shall see You the first cause, that
I shall love essential beauty, that I shall possess sovereign
goodness, that I shall enjoy a happy eternity. I believe
that in You, O God ! I shall see all that is beautiful, that
ON HEAVEN.
467
I shall love all that is good, that I shall possess all that is
rich, that I shall taste all that is sweet, and shall hear all
that is melodious.
Alas ! • that we should give ourselves so much trouble
in amassing riches and property ; that we should torment
our mind and body in the success or non-success of our
plans; that we should pass anxious days and sleepless
nights in trying to escape from a possible or probable
anticipated misfortune! Why such useless troubles and
fears ?
Had you worked to gain heaven, every moment of pain
would produce an additional lustre to your crown of glory.
But because you work for this world, you labour inces-
santly and gain nothing; you sow in the wind, and reap
only the tempest. All that you have done, all that you
have suffered, will be of no avail ; all your ridiculous pro-
jects will end in smoke, all your works are dead, and with
them, you will die.
Pere Cr asset.
La Foi.
• ••••••
Paradise ! what is it ?
It is the most wonderful invention of the wisdom of
God, the masterpiece of His mighty power, the boundary
of His liberality and magnificence, the worthy cost of the
precious blood of a God ; a boon so grand that God, all-
powerful as He is, could give us nothing better than Him-
self : Quid enim poterat dare seipso melius, vel ipse? says St.
Bernard. For it is He Himself who is given to the blessed
in heaven, and can He give anything better than Himself?
To obtain this happiness, He only asks us for a little
restraint on our passions, a sigh or tear from a contrite
and humble heart, a drop of water given for His sake. Is
this too much? If we refuse so small a tribute, do we not
deserve to be deprived of the reward for evermore ?
Digitized by
468
HALF-HOURS WITH THE SAINTS, ETC.
Paradise is an immense boon, since it is the final touch of
the magnificence of a God God manifests His riches, His
liberality, in all other gifts, but it is only in heaven, says
the Prophet, where He appears to be magnificent The
earth, the sea, the sky, the stars, and all the wondrous and
visible works of the Lord, manifest His power and majesty;
but, in Paradise alone His wondrous magnificence is to be
seen. Every blessing that God bestows upon His creatures
here below are but as globules dropping from that torrent
of joy which will inundate the souls of His elect. Some-
times God, in His mercy, allows His servants to feel a fore-
taste of delight, and He does it to make them understand
that if so much sweetness be granted to them while here
on earth, what an ocean of joy is prepared for them in
Paradise.
Woe to us, if we prefer this our exile, to our own true
home. We shall indeed deserve to be ever unhappy, if we
are so bliitf} as to love the world.
We take a pleasure in listening to old experienced tra-
vellers, who can tell us of the exact distance, situation, ex-
tent, and peculiarities of cities they have visited, but to the
traveller who is on his road to heaven, we do not go out of
our way to inquire how far we are removed from our
eternal home.
If we wilfully neglect to seek the road that leads to God,
we shall find that we are as far off, as earth is to heaven.
But if we sincerely try to reach that blessed city, we shall
soon find ourselves at its gate. That swerving from the
right path, does not depend upon the distance, but on the
length of our life's journey.
Nepvue.
Reflections Chritiennts.
St. Chrysostom.
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
0 — ■ —
PAGE
A.
Abstinence and Fastings . . . 182
Actual Grace of God .... 45
All our bad Passions .... 326
Alms-deeds 33J
Ambition 238
Anger 240
Annunciation 14°
Apostolic and Catholic Church . 165
Ascension of our Lord . . . . 112
Assumption of our Blessed Lady 155
Atheism and Unbelief .... 246
Avarice 243
B.
Balls, Theatres, &c 3*5
Baptism 1%S
Beiief in Christ °9
Blasphemy 250
Blessed V. Mary and her Feasts-
Devotion to our Blessed Lady . 123
Immaculate Conception ... 127
Nativity of B. V. Mary . . . 131
Holy Name of Mary . . . . 134
Presentation of Mary . . . . 137
Annunciation 14°
Visitation J44
Purification J47
Seven Dolours IS1
Assumption x55
Holy Rosary 15**
Our Lady of Mount Carmel . 162
Calumny and Slander .... 253
Caiholic and Apostolic Church . 165
Chastity and Purity . . .
Circumcision of our Saviour
Commandments of God
Communion ....
Confidence in God . ,
Conscience ....
Conversion of Sinners
Cross, Mystery of the
Dangers of the World . .
Dangers of Prosperity . .
Death— in general . . .
Death— a good and bad one
Descent of the Holy Ghost
Devotion to our Blessed Lady
Devotion and Piety . .
Dignities of the World . .
Discord, Law-suits, &c. .
Divinity of our Saviour
Duties of the World .
Effeminacy and Sensuality
Employment of Time .
Envy and Jealousy . .
Epiphany
Eucharist as a Sacrifice
Eucharist as a Sacrament
Excellence of the Soul .
Fashion, Immodest Attire, &c.
Fastings and Abstinence . .
Faith
Fear of God
286
182
34?
5
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INDEX OF SUByECTS.
PAGE
Five Sacred Wounds of cur Lord 105
Final Impenitence 234
Flattery 267
Frequent Relapses into Sin . . 231
Friendship 348
G.
Gambling 271
God, His Gifts, Graces, &c, viz. —
Love of God 1
Holy Fear of God 5
Will of God 9
Word of God 12
Law of God 16
Presence of God 21
Providence of God .... 24
Service of God 27
Want of Fervour in His Service 31
Mercy of God 35
His Mercy in Illness .... '38
His Mercy in Tribulations . . 42
Grace of God 45
His Sanctifying Grace ... 49
Confidence in God .... 53
Zeal for God 56
Good Example ...... 351
Good Works 354
H.
Habitual Sin 225
Hardness of Heart * .... 274
Hell 46^
Heaven 466
Hidden Life of Jesus 89
Holidays and Sundays .... 179
Holy Name of Jesus 83
Holy Name of Man' 134
Holy Ghost 116
Holy Trinity 119
Holy Rosary 158
Holy Fear of God 5
Holy Catholic Church .... 165
Holy Communion 192
Holy Eucharist as a Sacrifice . . 195
Holy Eucharist as a Sacrament . 198
Holiness and Perfection . . . 357
Honours of the World . . . . 215
Human Respect 360
Humility 363
Hypocrisy 277
PAGE
I.
Idleness and Sloth 280
Ignorance 283
Immaculate Conception ... 127
Immodest Attire, &c 286
Impurity 289
Incarnation, The 60
Infancy of Jesus 89
Ingratitude 292
Intemperance 295
j-
Jealousy and Envy 263
Jesus Christ our Lord, His
Feasts, &c. —
His Incarnation 60
His Divinity 64
Belief in Christ 69
On His Love for Men ... 72
His Nativity ...... 75
Circumcision ...... 79
His Holy Name 83
Infancy and Hidden Life . . 89
Transfiguration 92
Agony and Passion .... 98
Resurrection 102
Sacred Heart and Wounds . 105
Ascension 112
Judgments, Rash 305
„ Particular .... 454
„ The Last .... 457
K.
Keeping the Commandments . 333
Lady of Mount Carmel . . . 162
Larceny and Theft 319
Last Judgment 457
Law-suits, Discord, &c . . . 256
Law of God 16
Love of God 1
Love of Jesus for Man .... 72
Love of our Neighbour . . . 366
Love of our Enemies .... 369
Lying and Trickery 299
Digitized
by Google
INDEX OF SUByECTS.
471
M.
Material Churches 175
Matrimony 202
Maundy Thursday 95
Maxims of the World .... 208
Meditation and Mental Prayer . 372
Meekness 375
Mercy of God 35
,» in Illnesses . . v . 38
„ in Afflictions . . 4 2
Ministry of God's Church . . . 171
Mount Carmel, Our Lady of . . 165
Modesty 37**
Mortal sin 218
Mortification 382
Mystery of the Cross .... 109
N.
Name of Jesus 83
Name of Mary 134
Nativity of our Lord 75
Nativity of Mary 131
Neighbour, Love of our ... 366
O.
Obedience . . 386
Occasions of Sin 228
Order and Regularity .... 390
Our Lady of Mount Carmel . . 162
Our bad Passions 32^
P.
Particular Judgment .
Passion of our Lord
Passions, our Bad . .
Peace of the Soul . .
Penance, Sacrament of
Penance as a Virtue .
Perfection and Holiness
Perseverance ....
Piety and Devotion . .
Prayer
Predestination . . .
Presence of God . . .
Presentation of Mary .
Poverty, Voluntary, &c.
Prosperity of the Wicked
Providence of God . .
454
95
326
433
189
393
357
396
400
406
410
21
137
403
302
24
PAGE
Prudence 4*3
Purgatory 460
Purity and Chastity . . '. . . 4*6
Purification of Mary .... 147
R.
Rash Judgments 3°5
Regularity and Order .... 390
Relapses into Sin 231
Religion 4*9
Resurrection of our Lord . . . 102
Retreats 427
Riches, their Use and Abuse . . 427
Risen Jesus i°2
Rosary of B. V. M. . . , . 158
S.
sacrament of Baptism . . . . 185
,, Penance .... 189
„ Matrimony ... 202
,, Holy Communion . 192
„ Holy Eucharist . 19S
Sacred Heart and Wounds of Jesus 105
Salvation 437
Sanctifying Grace 49
Scandal 3°9
Self-love 3*2
Sensuality and Effeminacy . . . 260
Service of God 2 7
Seven Dolours 15 1
Sin, namely, Mortal Sin . . . 218
Venial Sin. ... 222
„ Habitual Sin . . . 225
Occasions of Sin . . 228
„ Relapses into Sin . 231
Sinners, Conversion of ... . 338
Slander and Calumny .... 253
Sloth and Idleness 280
Soul, its Excellence 43°
Soul, the Peace of the .... 433
Sundays and Holidays .... 179
Temptations 44°
Theatres, Balls, &c 3*5
Theft and Larceny 3X9
Time, Employment of . . . . 34 1
Digitized by
472
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
PACK
Transfiguration 92
Trickery and Lying 299
Treasures of the Church . . . 168
Trinity, the Holy 1x9
U.
Unbelief and Atheism
246
V.
Vainglory 322
Venial Sin 222
Visitation of Mary 144
Vocation to a State of Life . . 444
Voluntary Poverty 403
W.
Want of Fervour . .
Washing of the Feet .
Wicked, Prosperity of the
Will of God ....
Word of God. . . .
World and its Dangers .
World and its Maxims .
World and its Duties .
World and its Honours
31
95
302
9
12
205
208
212
215
Zeal for God 56
Digitized by
V
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED,
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES, AND LIST OF
EXTRACTS FROM THEIR WRITINGS.
PAGE
JElked, St. and Ab. C. (a.d. 1166)
Biographical Notice .... 45
On the Grace of God ... 45
Ambrose, St. and B. C. (a.d. 397)
Biographical Notice .... 208
On the Mercy of God in Ill-
nesses 41
On the World and its Maxims . 208
On Anger 242
On Discord, Law-suits, &c. . 259
On Ingratitude 292
On Intemperance 298
On Lying and Trickery . . 301
On Vainglory 324
On Holiness and Perfection . 359
On Meekness 375
On Modesty 378
On Purity and Chasiity . . 418
A ntoine, de la Porte (Carmelite).
On the Word of God ... 12
On Perseverance 396
Astere, St. (Suffered martyrdom
under Diocletian)
Biographical Notice . . . . 416
On Purity and Chastity . . 416
Athanasius, St., B. C. (a.d. 373)
Biographical Notice .... 61
On the Incarnation .... 61
Augustine, St., B.C.D. (a.d. 430)
Biographical Notice .... 16
On the Will of God .... 11
On the Law of God . ... 16
On the Providence of God . 26
On Want of Fervour ... 34
On the Nativity of our Lord . 75
On the Epiphany .... 89
PAGB
Augustine, St. — Continued.
On the Mystery of the Cross . 109
On the World and its Dangers 205
On the World and its Maxims 211
On Habitual Sin 225
On Atheism and Unbelief . . 246
On Lying and Trickery . . . 301
On Prosperity of the Wicked . 302
On Rash Judgments .... 308
On Self-love 314
On Conscience 337
On Meekness 377
On Order and Regularity . . 392
On Prayer 409
On Peace of the Soul . . . 436
On Temptations 443
Basil, St., B. C. D. (a.d. 379)
Biographical Notice .... 240
On Anger 240
On Envy and Jealousy . . . 265
On Flattery 269
On Impurity 289
On Prudence 413
On Riches 429
Bellarmin, Card. (a.d. 1621).
Biographical Notice .... 49
On Sanctifying Grace ... 49
Bernard, St., Ab. C (a.d. 1 153)
Biographical Notice .... 60
On the Incarnation .... 60
On the Circumcision .... 82
On the Sacred Heart ... 108
On Devotion to our B. Lady . 126
On the Immaculate Conception 130
On Habitual Sin 227
Digitized
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474
INDEX OF AUTHORS.
704)
Bernard, St. — Continued.
On Calumny and Slander
On Mortification . . .
On Piety and Devotion .
On Death
Berthier, S.J. (A.D. 1782)
Biographical Notice . .
On Mortal Sin ....
Berulle, Card. (a.d. 1629)
Biographical Notice . .
On the Divinity of Christ
Biroat, Prior (a.d. 1666)
Biographical Notice . .
On the Five Wounds .
On Habitual Sin . . .
On Hell
Bossuet, Bp. of Meaux (A.D.
Biographical Notice . .
On Occasions of Sin . .
Bo u DON, H. M., Archdeacon of
Evreux (a.d. 1702)
Biographical Notice ....
On the Service of God . . .
On Devotion to our B. Lady .
BOURDALOUE, SJ. (A.D. I7O4)
Biographical Notice . .
On the Want of Fervour
On the Grace of God
On the Circumcision
On Jesus Risen . .
On the Annunciation
On the Purification .
On Penance . . .
On Frequent Relapses
On Calumny and Slander
On Gambling . . .
On Hypocrisy . . .
On Idleness and Sloth
On Ingratitude . . .
On Scandal ....
On Conscience . .
On Conversion of Sinners
On Penance as a Virtue
On Religion ....
On the Last Judgment .
Bretteville, AbbE (a.d. 1688)
Biographical Notice
On the Fear of God
On the Excellence of the Soul
Camaret, Pere
On Self-love
2§3
385
402
450
220
220
64
64
106
106
226
463
230
230
27
27
123
31
31
47
79
102
140
li7
189
231
253
271
277
280
293
309
335
338
393
419
457
5
5
432
3i3
Carranza, Archbishop of Toledo
(A.D. 1576)
Biographical Notice .... 369
On the Love of our Enemies . 369
Castillo, O. S. D. (a.d. 1720)
Biographical Notice .... 192
On Holy Communion . . . 192
Chrysostom, St.,B. C.D.(a.d.407)
Biographical Notice .... 18
On the Law of God .... 18
On the Providence of God . . 24
On the Mercy of God in Afflic-
tions 42
On the Epiphany 86
On the Mystery of the Cross . 109
On the Holy Ghost . ... 116
On Baptism 185
On the World and its Duties . 212
On Final Impenitence . . . 237
On Anger 241
On Avarice 243
On Blasphemy 251
On Calumny and Slander . . 255
On Envy and Jealousy . . . 264
On Immodest Attire .... 286
On Ingratitude 292
On Vainglory 322
On Alms-deeds 331
On Christian Friendship . . 349
On Good Works 354
On the Love of our Neighbour 366
On Excellence of the Soul . . 432
On Salvation 437
On Temptations 440
On Heaven 468
Colombiere, De la, S.J.
(A.D. 1682)
Biographical Notice .... 36
On the Mercy of God ... 36
On Confidence of God ... 55
On the Agony and Passion . 98
On the Ascension . . . . 112
On the Holy Trinity . . . 121
On the Immaculate Conception 127
On our Lady of Mount Carmel 162
On Fasting and Abstinence . 182
On the World and its Honours 215
On Venial Sin 222
On Final Impenitence . . . 236
On Intemperance .... 295
On Love of our Neighbour . 366
I On Religion 421
Digitized
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\
INDEX OF AUTHORS.
475
PAGE
CORDIER, PERE (A.D. 1695)
Biographical Notice .... 202
On Matrimony 202
CR ASSET, S.J. (A.D. 1692)
Biographical Notice .... 466
On Heaven 466
Croiset, S.J. (about the year 1660)
Biographical Notice .... 25
On the Providence of God . . 25
On the Want of Fervour . . 33
On Zeal for God 57
On the Infancy of Jesus . . 89
On the World and its Dangers 20$
On Ambition 238
On Employment of Time . . 342
On Mortification 384
On Perseverance 398
On Piety and ijevotion . . . 400
On Predestination . . . . 410
On the Particular Judgment . 454
Cyprian, Saint and Martyr (a.d. 258)
Biographical Notice .... 263
On the Word of God ... 15
On Holy Communion . . . 194
On the Holy Eucharist . . . 201
On Mortal Sin ..... 221
On Atheism and Unbelief . . 249
On Envy and Jealousy . . , 263
On Immodest Attire .... 288
On Scandal 310
Damien, Cardinal Peter (a. d.
1073)
Biographical Notice .... 105
On the Sacred Heart . . . IQ5
D' Argent an, Pere
On the Holy Name of Mary . 134
On the Visitation .... 145
On Holiness and Perfection . 357
De la Rue, S.J. (a.d. 1725)
Biographical Notice .... 291
On Impurity 291
Dozennes, Pere
On the Divinity of our Saviour 66
Du Jarry, Pere (a.d. 1730)
Biographical Notice .... 75
On the Nativity of our Lord . 75
On the Visitation 144
Du Pont, SJ. (sometimes spelled
Du Font'6) (a.d. 1624)
Biographical Notice .... 92
On the Transfiguration ... 92
Duneau L'Abb£ (a.d. 181 i)
Biographical Notice .... 50
On Sanctifying Grace ... 51
Edmund, St. b.c. (a.d. 1242)
Biographical Notice .... 435
On the Peace of the Soul . . 436
Ephrem, St. (a.d. 379)
Biographical Notice ...» 423
On Retreats 423
On Salvation 437
Faber, F. W. (Oratorian Father)
(A.D. 1863)
Biographical Notice .... 6
On the Holy Fear of God . . 6
On the Presence of God . . 22
On the Service of God ... 28
On the Mercy of God ... 35
On the Circumcision .... 81
On the Purification . ... 149
On the Seven Dolours . . . 152
On the Holy Rosary . . . . 158
On the Holy Eucharist ... 198
On Aims-Deeds 332
On Humility 364
On Death 448
On Hell 464
Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambrai
(a.d. 1715)
Biographical Notice .... 315
On Theatres, Balls, &c. . . 315
On Prayer 406
Flechier, Bishop of Nimes (a.d.
1710)
Biographical Notice .... 43
On the Mercy of God in Afflic-
tions 43
On the Holy Ghost .... 117
On the Catholic Church . . 167
On the Ministry of God's Church 171
On Material Churches . . . 175
On the Holy Eucharist ... 195
On the World and its Dangers 205
On Faith 345
Francis, St., of Sales, B.C.D.
(a.d. 1622)
Biographical Notice .... I
On the Love of God .... I
On the Word of God ... 14
On Rash Judgments .... 305
On Theatres, Balls, &c. . . 316
Digitized
by Google
p
INDEX OF AUTHORS.
476
PAGE
Francis, Si.—Contimud.
On Friendship 348
On Humility 363
On Meditation 373
On Obedience 386
On Prayer 406
On Temptations ..... 440
Fromentiere, Bishop of Aire
(A.D. 1684)
Biographical Notice .... 70
On Belief in Christ .... 70
Garnier, S.J. (a.d. 1681)
Biographical Notice .... 200
On the Holy Eucharist . . . 200
Giroust, J., S.J. (a.d. 1689)
Biographical Notice .... 271
On Gambling 271
On Prudence 413
On Death 450
Gregory, St., the Great,
P. CD. (a.d. 604)
On the Fear of God .... 8
On the World and its Dignities 217
On Human Respect .... 362
On Obedience 380
Gregory of Nazianzen, St.
(ad. 389)
On Love of our Enemies . . 371
Haineuve, Pere
On Effeminacy 260
On Order and Regularity . . 390
Heliodore of Paris (Capuchin)
On Lying and Trickery . . . 300
HOUDRY, V., SJ. (A.D. I729)
Biographical Notice .... 53
On Confidence in God ... 53
On the Washing of the Feet . 95
On the Holy Trinity . ... 119
On the Immaculate Conception 127
On the Presentation of Mary . 137
On Ambition 238
On Impurity 289
On Intemperance 296
On Lying and Trickery . . . 299
On Scandal 311
On Alms-deeds 330
On the Conversion of Sinners . 339
On Predestination . . . . 410
On the Excellence of the Soul 430
On Death 452
PAGE
Jerome, St., B.C.D. (a.d. 420)
Biographical Notice .... 19
On the Law of God .... 19
On the Incarnation .... 63
On Belief in Christ .... 71
On the Ministry of God's Church 174
On Flattery 270
On Friendship 350
John of God, St. (a.d. 1572).
Biographical Notice .... 306
On Rash Judgments .... 307
Joly, Pere (a.d. 1775).
Biographical Notice .... 370
On the Love of our Enemies . 370
L'Abbe" de la Trappe.
On Rash Judgments .... 307
La Font, Prior (a.d. about 1750).
Biographical Notice .... 283
On Ignorance 283
On Faith 347
Lactantius.
On Theatres 318
Lambert, L'Abbe (a.d. 1836).
Biographical Notice .... 56
On Zeal for God 56
On Keeping the Commandments 333
On Obedience 387
Lejeune, L'Oratoire (a.d. 1672).
Biographical Notice .... 256
On Discord 256
On Theft and Larceny . . . 319
Leo, St., the Great, P. CD.
(a.d. 461.)
On Sanctifying Grace ... 52
On the Transfiguration ... 97
On Baptism 185
Le Valois, Louis (a.d. 1700).
Biographical Notice . . . • 114
On the Ascension . . . . 114
Louis of Grenada, O.S.D.
(a.d. 1588).
Biographical Notice .... 61
On the Incarnation .... 62
On Self-love 312
Mascaron, Bishop of Tulle -
(a.d. 1705).
Biographical Notice .... 274
On Hardness of Heart . . . 274
Masson, Pere.
On the Sacrament of Penance 1S9
Digitized by
INDEX OF AUTHORS.
477
Massillon, Bishop of Clermont
(A.D. 1742).
Biographical Notice .... 1 1
On the Holy Will of God . . 11
On the Word of God ... 13
On the Grace of God ... 46
On Belief in Christ .... 69
On the World and its Maxims 209
On Occasions of Sin . . . . 230
On Final Impenitence . . . 234
On Avarice 244
On Dangers of Prosperity . . 303
On Human Respect .... 360
On Mental Prayer .... 372
On Riches 427
On Vocation to a State in Life 444
MONTMOREL, PERE.
On the Epiphany 87
On Sundays and Holidays . . 179
Nepvue, S.J. (A.D. 1708).
Biographical Notice .... 9
On the Will of God .... 9
On the Presence of God . . 21
On Baptism 185
On Hardness of Heart . . . 276
On all our bad Passions . . 326
On the Excellence of the Soul 430
On Vocation to a State of Life 444
On Heaven 466
Nicolas of Dijon.
On the Holy Rosary . . . 159
NlEREMBERG, E., S.J. (A.D. 1658).
Biographical Notice .... 72
On the Love of Jesus for Man 72
Nouet, S.J. (a.d. 1680).
Biographical Notice .
On the Fear of God .
On the Mercy of God in Illness
8
8
39
On Zeal for God 58
On the Holy Name of Jesus . 83
On the Infancy of Jesus ... 91
On the Passion of our Lord . 99
On the Assumption .... 155
On Hardness of Heart . . . 275
Philip Neri, St. (a.d. 1595).
On our bad Passions . . . . 326
On Employment of Time . . 344
On Perseverance 399
On Devotion 402
On Prayer 409
On Vocation to State of Life . 446
On Death 453
Rodriguez, Alphonse (a.d. 1616):
Biographical Notice .... 326
On Vainglory 325
On our bad Passions . . . 326
On Meditation and Mental Prayer 373
On Modesty 380
Segneri, S.J. (a.d. 1694).
Biographical Notice . .
On the Love of God . .
On Venial Sin ...
On Employment of Time
On Good Works . . .
On Mortification . . .
On the Peace of the Soul
On Death
On the Last Judgment .
Spinola, Saint and Martyr
(a.d. 1622).
Biographical Notice ....
On the Mercy of God in Illness
4
4
224
341
355
382
433
447
459
32
38
Texier, Pere, S.J. (a.d. 1687).
Biographical Notice .... 165
On the Holy Catholic Church . 165
On the Treasures of the Church 168
On the World and its Duties . 213
On Mortal Sin 218
On Good Example .... 351
Vaubert, S.J. (a.d. 1 7 16).
Biographical Notice . . . . 194
On Holy Communion . . . 194
Verjus, A., S.J. (a.d. 1706).
Biographical Notice . . . . 131
On the Nativity of Mary . . 131
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